The Strength of a Thousand Dragons
by lepidus
Summary: When Natsu was found by Igneel, he had a strong drive to train and become more powerful. He learned not one, two, or even three, but FOUR different Dragon Slayer magics. He strengthened his mind and his body. Igneel's last wish was for him to join the Fairy Tail guild, so he begins his journey. [Natsu x Large Harem][Cover art by me] *probably discontinued*
1. Chapter 1: Igneel's Son

**Hello there! My name is lepidus - it's not my actual name, just to clear that up - and I had a lot of free time (although I have to admit I always have a lot of free time) and felt like it'd be a cool experience to try to write fanfiction. Honestly, I've never done it before so I doubt the story will be super awesome. Also, I've started watching Fairy Tail recently and it's pretty freaking cool. At least to me, anyway. I checked out quite a few other Fairy Tail fanfictions and I really enjoy ones where Natsu becomes really strong. I mean, I don't think I'm alone in thinking that, but it's a big thing for me. Obviously, this means that you're going to see evidence of that in the story. And on a side note, I don't think writing fanfiction will become a very large part of my daily life so I hope you don't expect lots of writing (though I type extremely quickly and not to brag but I have English grammar and spelling skills and knowledge far beyond my years). But yeah, I think I've said enough about why I'm writing so let's get to** ** _what_** **I'm writing.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

In the land of Fiore, there is something known as magic. For most of its population, magic is simply a tool, a convenient help with mundane and not so mundane tasks. Some even use magic for toys.

However, for a smaller percentage of Fiore's people (though just as important), magic is a part of who they are. They wield magic as a weapon and use it for good or for evil. Due to the existence of these magic-users, who were and are most commonly referred to as mages and/or wizards, magical guilds sprang up with proposals for those very people. Join a guild, and you could then do jobs that required a certain amount of skill for a fair amount of remuneration. These jobs were presented to the guilds by regular residents of Fiore who wanted help with different problems. The guilds and the people of Fiore worked in harmony to create a more peaceful nation.

One specific guild in this magical country was revered and spoken of throughout the land, and known as the strongest. They had powerful mages with reputations as unbelievable as their magics themselves. One boy would eventually join this guild and make it even stronger. The boy in question has his own story, so we must begin his unique tale.

On usual sunny days in the forests of Fiore, birds chirped and squirrels ran up and down trees as rabbits hopped and sounds of life were heard everywhere. However, this was not a usual sunny day in Fiore, and in fact the forest was having a bit of a breakdown due to a certain creature stomping throughout it.

This creature was, as strange as it sounds, a _dragon_. This specific dragon was covered with red scales and had several scars that gave it an intimidating look. In my opinion, though, it was intimidating enough already just because it was a dragon.

As the dragon stomped through the forest, it caught a strange scent with its sensitive nose and began heading in the direction the smell was coming from. He recognized it as human, but when he got closer he was surprised to see a small human baby that couldn't be older than three.

Now, you may expect that a dragon would gobble up any humans it met, but in this world dragons are surprisingly intelligent and many favor humans. This specific dragon, who happened to be known as Igneel, was pretty much indifferent. When it came to this human child, however, he could not help but feel the urge to take it in as one of his own. He picked the sleeping child up in one hand and walked back to the top of the mountain he resided on. He gently set the boy (he knew his humans well enough to differentiate the genders) down onto a pile of leaves in a clearing on the mountain. He then wrapped his body around the child and covered him with his wings before dozing off.

As time went on, he became more and more attached to the boy as the child grew to love his newfound father. Igneel would not allow himself to have a weak or idiotic heir, and began training his mind and body to surpass their supposed limits. He had him run, lift rocks, crush boulders, and even taught him the Fire Dragon Slayer magic that Igneel was a master of. But that was nothing compared to what he had to endure to work on his mind.

Igneel taught the boy to write and read with confidence and to think things through before taking action. He strengthened his reasoning and logic skills as well by challenging him with complex puzzles and riddles.

After a few months, Igneel knew he had to name the boy or it would become an inconvenience to refer to him as "child" or something or other. He decided Natsu was fitting for the son of a fire dragon, and the last name was not too difficult to decide upon either.

 _"Dragneel. The boy is a dragon in his heart and I have too much pride to not allow him to bear at least a part of my name,"_ he thought with a chuckle.

"Natsu Dragneel ... You are going to become the strongest human mage this world has ever seen," he said confidently. And with that, he strode back to check on his newly named child.

 **3 YEARS LATER**

"Dad?" Natsu called as he looked around for his father.

"I'm out here, Natsu!" came the answer from the other side of the mountain that they had been living on for the past three and a half years. "Did you already finish up with the early morning training?"

Natsu (now a six-and-a-half year-old) flew straight up into the air with fire seemingly shooting from his feet, propelling him. He looked down and saw his loving dragon of a father - and that is quite literal - and dove headfirst toward the ground beside him, shooting flames out at the last second to flip himself around and lessen the damage caused from his fall. Nevertheless, a small crater was created where he landed but he came out fine. Evidence of this frequent occurrence was obvious on the unfortunate floor of dirt and stone underneath his feet.

"Of course I've finished, did you think something as easy as that would take me very long?" Natsu asked with an exaggerated look of incredulity obvious on his face as he walked up to Igneel.

"If you think it's so easy, then why don't you go take another crack at the black and white hat riddle?" Igneel answered with another question, knowing Natsu had always struggled with that riddle.

"Already done, Dad. I've been working on it and I wrote down the answer and put it on the table," Natsu answered smugly.

"How about you explain how it works then?"

"Well, since the guy in the back can have no idea what color his hat is, his is obviously the one wrong answer that is allotted in the rules. Saying "black" or "white" has to send a message, and it can't explain the specific number of each h-," Natsu was cut off as Igneel threw a boulder straight at him. Natsu instinctively punched the large piece of stone into a pile of dust with insanely fast reflexes.

"I believe that you've figured it out, but I'll be sure to check out your answer when I get back there. And I'm actually impressed by how much you've improved in such a small amount of time." Igneel praised Natsu but made sure that he didn't get a big head. "For a six-year-old human, anyway."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks and all, but I really want to step up this training so I can get even stronger!" Natsu replied energetically, causing Igneel to chuckle knowingly.

 _"If he wants harder training, then he's gonna get it."_ Thought Igneel mischievously, as he said something a bit less ominous to Natsu. "If that's really what you want, then I'll put you on a training regimen that will make you ten times as strong within only two years, but it'll be difficult and you'll need to learn other magic."

"I'll do it! I'm going to be even stronger than you someday, and I'll have to train you to get stronger!" Natsu said with a huge grin on his face.

"Now, now, don't get ahead of yourself. I'm the one training you, so you'd better not get me angry!"

 **2 YEARS LATER**

"So what's it like out there?" Natsu inquired as he thought about the fact that he'd never seen another human before. He looked at the space between his feet quietly, waiting for an answer.

Igneel laughed, but figured Natsu's curiosity about other humans was warranted given the fact that he hadn't been in the presence of other people even once in his life. "In a word? Crowded. People everywhere. Eating, drinking, walking, talking, kissing, and doing pretty much all of it at once. One thing about them, though, is that they're all unique. Different in their own ways."

Natsu frowned slightly. "That sounds pretty gross. Are they all like that?" He kicked the dirt in frustration, wishing he could meet some people for once, even if they were weird.

The dragon looked over at Natsu for a moment before opening his maw to say something else, but then deciding to stay silent.

"So when are we going to make that trip? I've been looking forward to it, but you never have told me a specific time." Natsu said.

Igneel sighed. "We might as well go now, since you've basically mastered those other magics."

"What?! Really?" Natsu exclaimed with excitement practically dripping from every part of his body.

"Let's go. But I want you to fly as far as you can with me using those fire wings you've developed. It will help you get used to them and increase your magic power as well as your endurance." Igneel said, as he began to flap his wings quickly along with Natsu, who created wings out of fire that protruded from his back. They flew out into the distance, and even after they were out of sight it seemed as though you could still feel the strength of their magic even from that far away.

 **Hey, guys! Glad you finished the chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it. I know this part wasn't very exciting, but it set the stage for what will come next. Tell me what you liked about it if you can, and I hope you'll keep reading as I write!**


	2. Chapter 2: Journeys

**Hey there, in case you're wondering I write really quickly and I'm not making these chapters super long so that's why I'm able to write as many as I do in such a short amount of time. Well, anyway, enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

Natsu awoke on a hard, scaly surface. He immediately recognized it as his father's back. He sat up and looked around, noticing a definite change in the scenery. It was now cold and icy, snow fell and trees were drooping with the weight of it. This was a stark contrast with the familiar temperate and sunny forests and the vegetation-covered mountain he was used to.

"We're entering the realm of one of my friends, Gelumacies. He is a powerful ice dragon, and as such I want him to teach you Ice Dragon Slayer magic." Igneel said, noticing that Natsu was awake.

"No way! I can't believe that I'll get to learn two different dragon slayer magics!" Natsu was so excited he almost went back to sleep.

They soon arrived at their destination and immediately saw a large blueish mound, that when more closely examined turned out to be the back of a dragon. An ice dragon known as Gelumacies, according to Igneel.

Igneel introduced himself, and Natsu greeted Gelumacies politely. They soon became good friends, and when Gelumacies learned of the reason for their visit, he was more than happy to teach Natsu his magic.

 **8 MONTHS LATER**

As Natsu bade farewell to the ice dragon, he wondered what they would do next. This was quickly answered by Igneel, who told him that they would be going to meet another friend of his - Fulmen. According to Igneel, Fulmen was a lightning dragon, which got Natsu super pumped up.

They soon arrived and after introductions were delivered Fulmen agreed to teach Natsu Lightning Dragon Slayer magic.

 **8 MONTHS LATER**

As another eight months had passed since Natsu had begun learning Lightning Dragon Slayer magic, Igneel and he left to go see the sky dragon, Grandeeney. Natsu was now almost eleven years old, but his strength was far beyond his years.

When they arrived at Grandeeney's place, they asked for her assistance in the teaching of Sky Dragon Slayer magic to Natsu. Grandeeney could not turn down them, and agreed to teach him her magic, as she was already teaching another. Igneel made sure that the two would not meet, however, because they both felt it unwise to have such communication for different reasons which will not be disclosed.

 **1 YEAR LATER**

A year had passed and Natsu was now adept if not an expert at Sky Dragon Slayer magic but it was time to say goodbye to Grandeeney.

"What now?" Natsu asked curiously. He was now just about twelve years old, and a master of Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Sky Dragon Slayer magic. Not only that, but he was adept in other magics as well. He was very intelligent and kind-hearted.

Igneel sighed. He stayed silent until they finally arrived back at their home. It had been over two years since they'd seen it. "Your Dragon Slayer magic training is complete. Besides creating new moves of your own or increasing your magic and physical attributes, I've taken you as far as I can with Dragon Slayer magic. It's time for you to train on your own. I'll still be here, but I won't be the teacher so much as a watcher."

Natsu smiled. "Don't worry. I've learned so much that soon I'll be the teacher!"

Igneel guffawed, but said nothing else.

"Well, I might as well go back to training. Cya later, Dad!"

 **2 MONTHS LATER**

Natsu woke up and the first thing he noticed was the change in his attire. He was now wearing long black baggy pants, a tight black short-sleeved shirt underneath a dark purple cloak. His feet were in soft black socks and black moccasin-like shoes. His scarf was tied around his neck and a note lay beside him. He picked up the note and read it to himself.

" _I've been forced to leave you, Natsu. I had no choice in the matter, but you don't need to come looking for me. I was not taken, it was just a matter of the lives of innocent people. I'm sure you noticed that I've given you new clothes, and a new sword is on the table waiting for you. They're all fireproof, the sword is practically unbreakable, and the clothes will never tear. I want you to go out and join the Fairy Tail guild. They're a group of strong wizards that are full of happiness. The guild is in Magnolia, a city south of here. I'm sure you'll find it by asking around. Never forget to protect your friends, and keep your loved ones away from danger. Goodbye, son. I love you. And never forget... You have the strength of a THOUSAND DRAGONS!"_

Natsu was shocked. He just stood still for a while, and reread the note so many times he knew it by heart. He almost considered running out to look for Igneel, and beginning a quest to find him. But the note stopped him. Igneel said not to look for him. Natsu knew Igneel was not stupid, and he also knew Igneel was probably the strongest creature alive. There would be no purpose in beginning a search. He figured he would set out to do what Igneel had wanted, and join the Fairy Tail guild.

He couldn't help but cry as he re-quipped his things into his pocket dimension, but he tried his hardest to stay strong. He walked outside and looked over the mountain to the south, and created his fire wings. On that day, July the seventh of the year 777, Natsu began his journey toward the illustrious Fairy Tail guild.

 **3 WEEKS LATER**

Natsu stared at the sign on the outskirts of the city, where it said "Magnolia" in capital letters. He began his walk into the city, and almost instantly spotted his goal. The large building known as the Fairy Tail guild hall was easy to see even from his distance. He picked up his pace and quickly arrived at the doors.

By this time Natsu was already pretty much used to all of the people in the world, but he felt that they were all a little … boring. None of them were as special as Igneel had made them out to be. He just hoped this new place would be different. With a deep breath, he pulled open the doors and braced himself.

It was lucky he was so prepared, because almost immediately a chair flew straight at his face. He instantly caught it with ease, and set it back down by a table as he kept walking. People began taking notice, and stared at him as he walked straight through the guild hall, ignoring the people around him.

He didn't get very far before a red-haired girl that looked about his age wearing armor for some reason walked up to him. "Is there something you need?" she asked with a hint of annoyance.

"Is this the Fairy Tail guild hall?" Natsu asked, not answering her question.

"It is, and what of it?" she said.

"I'd like to see the guild master to know if I could join."

The girl seemed surprised by this answer, but quickly recovered. "I can find him if you'd like, but you'll have to wait a bit; you can sit down at the bar." She walked away and almost immediately others came up to him with their own questions.

"Are you lost?" That one was a bit irritating to Natsu.

"You do know this is a wizard's guild, right?" That one didn't sound too mean.

"No offense, but are you sure you're good enough to join?" came a particularly rude comment from a black-haired boy about Natsu's age with no shirt on.

"Is there supposed to be a test? I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about wizard guilds." Natsu replied truthfully.

"Well, there isn't _really_ a test, but I'd like to see how strong you are," the boy said with a smirk.

Natsu looked up at him. "What do you want me to do?" he asked. He was actually pretty interested since he really wasn't sure how he stood against other wizards.

The boy, who introduced himself as Gray, smiled. "I want you to try to beat me, and I won't be holding back."

"Alright then, let's go." Natsu replied as they got up and walked outside, others following.

People watched as they got in their fighting positions.

"That kid has to be Gray's age, so there's no way he stands a chance," someone said.

"Yeah, I don't mean to be rude, but no one that age except for Erza and Mira are that strong," came another comment.

Natsu was wondering if he really was strong, because he didn't sense a lot of magic power coming from the other boy. He didn't have much time to think about it, however, as Gray started the match by saying, "Let's go!" and charging.

Natsu figured he'd see what kind of magic his opponent used before attacking, and waited till Gray yelled "Ice Make: Lance!"

Long spear-like formations of ice came shooting at Natsu, but he wasn't worried. He was glad that Gray used ice magic, because he could eat ice no problem. He showed this by catching two of the lances and dodging the rest, then beginning to eat them both.

Everyone was speechless. "He just ate Gray's ice like it was a sandwich, and not only that but he was able to easily dodge the other attacks!"

Gray narrowed his eyes. "I don't know how you did that, but it's not happening again!" he shouted as he began a spell.

"You're right. I'm ending this right now." Natsu said as he ran full speed at the boy.

"Ice Make: Sh- oompf!" Gray was cut off as Natsu punched him in the gut, sending him flying into a tree.

"Hey, you alright there?" Natsu asked, worried he had hit him too hard.

No one knew what to say for the second time. "He might even be stronger than Erza and Mira!" someone shouted.

"Who might be stronger than I?" came a voice from a red-haired girl who was staring murderously at the crowd, and then at the two boys who had obviously been fighting. She looked from the pink-haired boy to Gray, and then back, realizing what must have happened.

"I go to get the guild master for you, and when I get back you're already fighting one of your future guildmates?" she asked incredulously.

Natsu looked at the ground. "I'm sorry, but he told me that he wanted to see how strong I was and asked me to fight him. I didn't mean to inconvenience you." He apologized politely.

Erza blinked. Most people would have tried to make up an excuse, or lie about what happened. Actually, most just acted scared and ran away. But this kid was different. He didn't seem afraid at all, but instead genuinely sorry.

She looked at Gray, and decided she would go easy on him, seeing as he had already gotten punishment from Natsu. "Well, I have to admit that you are pretty strong to have taken out Gray so easily." She looked back at him. "The guild master is waiting inside if you still want to join."

Natsu smiled at her. "Thanks for that. I really am sorry for hurting him." he added, hoping she'd forgive him. He began to walk into the guild to talk to the master, but a strong arm stopped him.

Erza looked at him. "It's fine. I should apologize for Gray being so arrogant. Maybe we could fight sometime. You know, as a friendly spar."

"I'd like that." Natsu said as he walked into the guild hall. There were less people because most had funneled outside to watch their fight, but there were still many nonetheless. He saw a very short old man sitting on the bar, and figured he was the guild master. He walked up to him and asked, "Hello, my name is Natsu Dragneel - are you the Fairy Tail master?"

The man looked down and smiled. "That I am, Natsu. The name is Makarov. I hear you want to join the guild?"

Natsu smiled back. "I really would. Is there anything I have to do to join?" he asked.

"No, but do you have any parents?" Makarov asked kindly. He was used to orphaned children asking to join, and he felt obliged to become their new guardian.

Natsu looked down before answering. "No, I no longer have any parents."

"My condolences. I won't pry; it isn't my business. Where do you want the guild mark stamped, and what color?" he asked,

Natsu thought for a moment. He really didn't have a favorite color, but decided to match it with his new cloak from Igneel. "I'd like it to be purple, and on the outside of my right hand."

Makarov smiled before getting the purple stamp and using it on Natsu. "You are now an official member of the Fairy Tail guild! This calls for a celebration!" he yelled before whispering something in Natsu's ear. "Ask Erza about the rules and how to take jobs. She's the one with red hair that always wears armor. I think you two have already met."

Natsu smiled as people drank, fought, and had fun. He looked around for Erza and spotted her almost immediately. She was at a table eating strawberry cheesecake with much gusto. He walked over to her table and sat down, staying silent and waiting until she was done, which took a full five minutes.

"Hello, I was told to ask you the rules and everything else about what you do here." Natsu said politely as she finished.

Erza looked up from her plate, just realizing he'd been sitting there for the past five minutes. "Oh, I'm sorry if I didn't notice you. What do you know about guilds already?" she asked.

"It's fine, and nothing, really. I know they're bands of wizards that complete jobs for jewels, but I don't know anything more." he answered.

Erza looked at Natsu curiously. Most boys his age were far less polite and a lot less well-spoken. She wanted to know more about who he was. "Our guild is a family. We love each other as much as we love our individual magics. Speaking of magics, what magic do you use?"

Natsu smiled before answering. "Well, I actually know seven different types of magic." He knew it was rare for wizards to know even two distinct magics, let alone seven.

Erza's eyes widened, but then she laughed. "Wow, you almost had me there for a second. If you don't want to tell me, it's fine," she said, thinking he was joking.

"No, I'm serious. Here, I'll show you. Let's go outside." he replied, getting ready to show his power.

Erza couldn't help but want to see, so she followed him to the same place where he'd beaten Gray. He got in front of the tree, and counted down with his fingers.

"Now stand back. Three, two, one, now!" he shouted, and then immediately followed by yelling, "Fire Dragon's Roar!" A large stream of flames burst out of his mouth and demolished the tree in front of him along with at least a hundred others. Thankfully, he didn't hit any of the town buildings.

The sheer strength of the attack was amazing. Not only that, but both Erza and Makarov (who had followed them out of curiosity) recognized the magic as Dragon Slayer magic, which was known as a lost magic.

Natsu smiled. "Here's my second magic. Ice Dragon's Roar!" he yelled, and a blast of ice shot out of his mouth and blew apart what was left of the trees.

Erza and Makarov were in shock. They didn't even think it was possible to know two different dragon slayer magics.

"Third." Natsu stated. "Lightning Dragon's Roar!" he shouted, and the same thing happened, with lightning in place of the fire and ice.

"Fourth." he said calmly, getting into the same position. "Sky Dragon's Roar!" a powerful blast of air shot through the now barren wasteland in front of him.

Erza and Makarov didn't even know what to say. Others had come out to see what the commotion was, and were amazed at Natsu's strength.

"Fifth." Natsu said as his hand glowed, and a steel katana appeared. His clothes changed as well, morphing into a steel plated armor with steel greaves.

Erza immediately recognized this as requip magic, and was amazed at how he could change his armor as well. She already didn't know what to say about his dragon slayer magic, and now had no idea what to expect from his last two.

"Sixth," he said. Out of nowhere he appeared behind Erza, then on top of the guild hall, then on the other side of the wasteland, and finally returning to his original position.

"And last but not least, my seventh magic," he said. Actually, he didn't open his mouth at all. Everyone heard it in their minds, and realized he was using telepathy.

"That's it. My seven different magics," he announced proudly.

Erza and Makarov had regained their composure, but were still speechless by his show of strength and skill. Eventually Makarov was able to say something, although it came out like, "How… no w-... wha… impossible…."

He shook his head to clear his mind, and immediately grinned widely. "Natsu, you're amazing! Where did you learn all of this stuff? How are you so powerful?"

Natsu looked at the ground sheepishly. "Thanks. I learned the dragon slayer magics from four different dragons. And about being powerful, I just trained every day as hard as I could."

Everyone was cheering, and yelling "Natsu! Natsu!" because even if they couldn't understand how he was so strong or what magic he used, they knew he was in their guild.

Natsu smiled, happy everyone liked him so much. "So, Master Makarov, can I go on a job?" he asked, excited to try his first one.

"Of course! In fact, I know just the one, and I want Erza to come with you. It's common for new members to be accompanied by more experienced members so they can be guided." he handed Natsu a paper, and walked back to his desk, amazed at the strength of the child. " _You know, he might even be as strong as Gildarts. We really don't know his true power yet."_

On the other side of the guild at the doors, Erza was talking to Natsu about the new job. "We're supposed to power up a machine with magic for a client. Apparently it needs so much power it will probably take us an entire week to fill up. Luckily, this is your first job and so it's good that it's so simple."

Natsu laughed. "I might be able to power it all up myself when we get there, you know. I'm not trying to brag, but I had no idea how strong I was compared to others. I barely used ten percent of my full strength when I was showing my magic, but you guys were all amazed."

Erza didn't know what to say about this new revelation. " _There's no way. He only used_ ten _percent of his strength back there? He could've beaten me no problem with that power. I wonder if he's as strong as Gildarts, or even the master himself."_

"Well, we won't know till we get there, so let's catch the train." Erza said as they walked outside together.

"Ugh, I feel horrible. I was told that as a dragon slayer I would get motion sickness, so I trained until I was completely over it. I guess after learning three more dragon slaying magics, it's even worse than it was before. I'm gonna have to spend forever to get over it this time," Natsu said as he held a hand over his mouth.

"I'm sure that it won't take _you_ long, based on how determined you are," Erza said, sympathetic for the pink-haired dragon slayer. She felt the need to comfort him, and awkwardly moved closer to where he was sitting on the train. She put her arm slowly around his neck, and pulled him to her chest, which was uncomfortably covered in armor.

"Ah, thanks, but this armor kind of hurts," Natsu said with a slight smile, trying hard not to gag.

"I'm so sorry, Natsu. Here," Erza re-quipped into a white blouse, which made her widen her eyes. She never took her armor off around people, but here she was comforting someone she'd met barely two hours ago without her armor on. She couldn't explain the way she'd felt, as it was a new feeling to her.

"Thanks again, Erza. You really are nice." Natsu grinned at her, his motion sickness disappearing for a moment.

"Just try to relax till we get there. You're my guildmate, so of course I'd do anything to make you feel better." Erza replied, happy that he was content.

 **There! Another chapter done. I hope you guys like it, and remember to give me some advice or tell me what I should do! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3: Erza Scarlet

**Hey, guys. Here's the third chapter. Funny, because I've made all three of these chapters in the same day. Hope you guys like it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

At the train station of Pertempt, a young boy with pink hair and a girl of similar age with red hair climbed out of the train and began walking toward the center of the city. They eventually arrived at a large building with a metal sign that read "EXPERIMENTAL POWER AGENCY" in large letters.

The two exchanged a quick glance before walking up to the door and pulling it open. It was a large factory full of noise and machines. One particular machine that stood out was a thirty foot tall twenty foot wide tube-like container attached to a metal vacuum cleaner-like block of metal. An overweight man with a beard walked up to the two strange children at the door.

"I assume you are the Fairy Tail mages we asked for?" After getting a nod of confirmation from Erza, he continued. "I hope you realize that this requires a large amount of magic, so if you don't have much it will take a long time - and your pay will be lessened."

"We know what the job requires, and my friend here will be happy to fill it up all by himself. It may seem impossible, but he has enormous reserves of magical power that I am sure can complete this task on their own."

"In that case, I'd like for you to put your dominant hand in this tube here, young man. When I press this button, the machine will slowly absorb your magic power. When you begin to feel dizzy, tell me to stop it and I will have it stop absorbing your magic. Tell me when you're ready to begin," the man said.

"I'm ready right now." Natsu replied with a confident grin. The man pressed the button.

The effect was instantaneous. A glowing golden substance began filling up the tube at a fast rate, and within about a minute it was completely filled up.

The man was shocked. No one had that much magic power, and he'd never seen such pure energy. This kid was something else. He turned the machine off and turned toward the two as Natsu took his arm out of the machine.

"I really don't know what to say. This boy here has more strength than a Wizard Saint. And his energy is the purest I've ever seen in my whole life," the man said with a smile. "I'm sure you'll become an extremely powerful and famous wizard someday. Here's your reward." He put a large sack of jewels on the table, and then, seemingly as an afterthought, he took two more bags and set them there as well. "I never expected for this job to be done in a minute. This will make it super easy, and the money I'm giving you now is nothing compared to the help you've given me. Good luck, young wizards."

Natsu was grinning widely and Erza was only mildly surprised. She had expected something like this. However, she still couldn't help but admire Natsu for his strength and his modesty. He didn't brag, and he wasn't stuck-up at all.

"Well, our first job is completed. Would you look at that. I think you're ready for harder missions. And not only did you do the job extremely well, you're getting three times the reward. That's three million jewels."

"Thanks, Erza. Though to be honest you can have all the money. I wouldn't know what to buy with it," Natsu said with a smile.

Erza was surprised at this. He had to at least have a place to stay, and to get food. Not only that, but he had done all the work anyway. "There's no way I can accept that. I didn't even do anything. Where are you even going to sleep, and how are you going to buy food?" she asked, concerned.

"Well, I've slept outside for that past two years or so, and I've just gotten my own food from outside," he replied, thinking it was obvious.

Erza's eyes widened. "You can't sleep outside! And you have to get the right food!" she exclaimed.

"Ah, I like the outside, and the food's fine," Natsu said.

Erza narrowed her eyes. "You'll get stronger if you have lots of the right food to eat. Isn't that what you want? And a good night's sleep keeps you healthy. Sleeping outside isn't sanitary, so you could get sick. That would all slow you down. How would you get more powerful?"

Natsu was surprised. He hadn't thought of it that way. He realized she was right. "Okay then, I'll get a house. Although, I really don't know how to buy a house at all. And about the food… I don't really know how to cook at all, so I wouldn't know what to do."

Erza smiled. "I'll help you get a good house. And you know what? I'll teach you to cook. You seem like a really nice person, so I can't help but want to." She felt the need to help Natsu for some reason. She wanted him to be happier. This was a new feeling for her. It was normal for her to love her guildmates and protect them, but it was different with him.

Natsu looked up at her, glad she would help him. "I really am thankful, Erza. You're really generous and kind. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Spontaneously, Erza gave him a hug. She really couldn't explain why she did it, but she just wanted to. As soon as she realized what she did, she began to pull back, but was stopped by Natsu hugging her back. "It's fine. You're my first friend besides my teachers. Thanks again."

"No problem. I think we should go catch the train back to Magnolia now, though. Speaking of trains, I'll help you overcome your motion sickness as well. Let's go," she finished, pulling out of the hug. She began walking outside toward the train station, Natsu right behind her.

Natsu couldn't help but grin. Erza was super nice. He couldn't wait to pick out a house and learn to cook. Just thinking about doing new things made him happy, and now Erza would be with him as well.

* * *

On the way back to Magnolia, Erza still had her arm wrapped around Natsu's neck with his head laying on her chest. Natsu quickly fell asleep on the train ride. Erza looked down at Natsu fondly. " _We're going to be great friends, I can already tell,"_ she thought to herself. " _He's kind, strong, smart, and polite. I wonder how much power he_ really _has?"_

When the train finally arrived at Magnolia, the two walked back to the guild hall happily. Because the train ride was only an hour and a half ride, it was just getting late in the city.

In the guild hall, Makarov watched the guild members getting ready to go back home for the day. " _I wonder how Erza and Natsu are doing. They should be coming back in about a week, though I wouldn't be surprised if it were a day or two since Natsu has so much power."_

Just then, the doors were thrown open by the very two people Makarov had been thinking about. Eyes were turned on the two. Many were surprised that they were already back; they'd heard the two went on a mission just a few hours ago. Most, however, were just afraid for some reason and pretending that they had not just been brawling and had been acting like great friends.

Natsu noticed this, and was curious as to why people acted that way by Erza. "Why is everyone afraid of you, Erza?" Natsu asked.

Erza looked at him for a moment, and then kept walking toward the master. "I have a bit of a reputation for punishing those who would break the rules. I have no fear that you would do any such thing, however."

Natsu pondered that for a bit, thinking she just cared about her guildmates and that people sometimes were afraid. He couldn't see her being mean, though, since she had been so kind to him on their job.

They walked up to the guildmaster, who was surprised to see them so soon. "Did you finish the job?" he asked.

Erza looked at him and smiled. "It took only one minute for Natsu to fill up the container with his magic. The client was astounded and gave us three times the pay. Not only that, but apparently his magic was the purest he'd seen in his life. It was a glowing golden substance that I have to admit seemed beautiful."

Natsu looked embarrassed at this. "I mean, it wasn't too hard or anything…" he mumbled.

The master just grinned at Natsu's reaction. "I'm glad you didn't get a big head from that - most people would think they're some big stuff after that. You really are special, Natsu. Well, it's time for us to close up now, so I'll see you two tomorrow. Good job to you both."

The master walked away, and most of the guild began to follow. Erza looked over at Natsu, and realized that he had no where to stay for the time being. "Hey, Natsu?" she asked. "I want you to come stay at my room in Fairy Hills for tonight, since you don't have anywhere to sleep."

Natsu looked over at her. "Thanks for the offer, but I couldn't intrude." He smiled. "After all, you're doing so much for me already."

Erza knew he would say something like that, but she would not allow him to sleep outside. "There's no way I'm letting you. You're coming with me whether you like it or not." She grabbed his arm and began pulling him toward Fairy Hills, the girls' dormitory that female Fairy Tail guild members could stay at, for a price.

"Alright, alright. You don't need to drag me. I'm coming," Natsu said, laughing.

They got to Fairy Hills, and when they entered immediately they were stopped by the keeper of Fairy Hills, an old woman with a fiery temper. "No boys allowed here - you know the rules, Scarlet!"

"I'm sorry Miss Hilda, but Natsu here needs somewhere to stay tonight till he can buy a house. It's only for tonight," Erza said, hoping she would let them through.

Hilda thought for a bit. Erza was always very responsible, and had kept boys from entering Fairy Hills many times. She trusted Erza, so she figured she'd let her. "Alright then, but only for tonight."

They walked up the stairs, Erza leading, until they finally got to Erza's dorm. She quickly requipped her keys into her hand and unlocked the door. The room wasn't very special. Plain white walls, with a large bed in the middle. The door to the bathroom on the left and a large closet on the right. One thing Natsu found interesting, however, were the sets of armor hanging around the room. Weapons stood up on the walls as well.

"Why do you have so much equipment?" he asked. He'd noticed her requipping her keys, so he wondered if that was the magic she used.

Erza closed the door behind them, and then answered. "I use requip magic, which I noticed you use as well. I have many sets of armor and weapons in my arsenal. Each gives me certain enhanced abilities or resistances that help me in fights."

Natsu smiled. "That's pretty cool. I only have three different sets of armor, and they aren't too special. One reflects magic attacks and has really good defense, another makes my fire magic more powerful, and another gives my physical strength a boost."

"I have sets of armor similar to those, and many more. Maybe you could buy a few with that new money you've gotten," Erza said. "Anyway, I think it's time we go to bed. What do you say?"

"Sure. Just let me requip this cloak off. Want me to sleep on the floor?" Natsu asked, as there was only one bed.

Erza smiled at him, and answered. "You're my guest, so you can sleep on the bed with me. Just don't try anything funny," she said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked as he got into the bed.

Erza realized Natsu wasn't that kind of person. "Nevermind. I'm turning the lights off. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Erza."


	4. Chapter 4 : Mirajane Strauss

**What's up? Fourth chapter in the same day. Pretty crazy, huh? I think I'll have the next chapter up before I go to bed as well. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

When Erza woke up, she felt unusually warm. Especially around her arms. She opened her eyes slowly and almost slapped Natsu. Her arm was wrapped around his waist and they were pushed against each other. She then realized it must've happened while they had been sleeping, so she tried to not to wake him up as she got out of the bed. She pulled her arms out from under him and stood up.

She started to wake him up, but stopped for a moment. " _He looks so peaceful when he's sleeping…"_ she thought to herself. Then she remembered all the things they needed to do today. She gently shook him. "Natsu!"

"Huh?...What?" Natsu slowly opened his eyes, and realized where he was. "Oh…"

Erza laughed. "I'm gonna go take a shower. See you in a bit."

Natsu smiled and laid back down on the bed. He heard the sound of water, and after a while it stopped. Erza came out of the bathroom with her usual armor on, and gestured for him to go in next.

When Natsu finished showering, he dried himself off with his flames and then requipped into his black shirt, pants, socks, and shoes, with his purple cloak.

They both walked out of Fairy Hills together, and headed to the guild hall. By now the guild was open, and people were coming in to get drinks or to get jobs, or some just to talk. Erza told him to sit down somewhere and she would go tell the master what they'd be doing today.

Natsu looked around for a bit, then decided to sit down at the nearest table, which was empty. Almost immediately afterward, however, a girl around his age with white hair sat down in the seat next to him. "Hi there! My name's Lisanna. What's yours?"

Natsu looked over at her. "I'm Natsu. Natsu Dragneel. I joined yesterday. It's nice to meet you."

Lisanna smiled. "I heard that you're really strong. Is it true?"

"Well, don't say this to anyone else because I don't want them to get the wrong idea, but I'm pretty much as strong as the guild master. I can sense magic pretty well, so unless someone's just very adept at hiding theirs, I don't have much competition."

Lisanna's eyes widened at this. "No way!"

Before she could say anything else, another girl with the same colored hair walked up behind her. "People are saying you're powerful, huh? You don't look like much to me."

Lisanna looked up at the new girl. "Big sis! Don't be mean!"

Natsu just laughed. "If you want to test me you can fight me. But I have to warn you, you're probably going to lose.

"As if!" she scoffed. "I'm an S-Class mage. You joined yesterday. But you know what, I'm in the mood to beat someone up, so let's go outside. The name's Mira, by the way. Figured you might want to know who's about to demolish you."

"Let's go, then," Natsu said confidently.

When they got outside, the two stood directly opposite each other. Mira smiled. "Ready, set, GO!"

"Satan Soul!" Mira yelled as she suddenly changed form. She gained black wings and a revealing pink and gold skin-tight one-piece suit. A tail grew from her back, and golden armor-like gloves grew to her forearm. Strange markings and other little things changed about her appearance. Natsu immediately noticed a large difference in her magical strength and stepped back a little.

A ball of dark energy appeared in Mira's hand as she yelled, "Demon Blast!" and threw it at Natsu. Natsu just punched it to the side, where it exploded high in the air.

Mira's eyes widened. No kid that age who joined the guild yesterday could just deflect such a strong attack without even trying.

"Let's end this," Natsu said quietly. He teleported right beside her, and uppercutted her with extreme power. She flew straight into the air, and started falling to the ground, her Satan Soul ending. Natsu caught her right before she slammed into the ground.

Mira opened her eyes to realize she was in Natsu's arms. She tried to move but was too tired. "I guess that proves who's stronger, huh?" Natsu asked rhetorically.

Lisanna, who had been watching the whole thing - along with four or five other guild members - was just amazed. Mira was an S-Class wizard, and this boy who joined yesterday defeated her with one punch.

Natsu walked into the guild carrying Mira in his arms. Erza was just walking back to get Natsu when she saw him. Her eyes widened and she wondered what had just happened. "Natsu?" she asked.

Natsu looked over at the sound of her voice. "Where's the infirmary? I fought Mira, and I may have gone a little overboard."

Erza looked closer at Mirajane. She was unconscious, and her chin had a red mark where a bruise was forming. "Here, follow me. What attack did you even use on her? She looks like she got wiped out."

"I just uppercutted her. I didn't need to use any magic," Natsu said cooly.

Erza was amazed. They had just gotten to the infirmary, so she didn't get to comment on it. Natsu set her down on one of the beds, and told the nurse what had happened. He felt kind of bad for hurting her, but she had asked for it.

"Well, Natsu, now that you've beaten up two of the strongest wizards in our age group, let's go find you a house," Erza said cheerfully. She didn't know why, but she felt really happy to help Natsu with something.

"Alright then, let's go," Natsu replied.

 **Well, that's finished. Fifth chapter will be up soon. Pretty cool getting followers and such since I started fanfiction and this story today. Hehe. Peace out.**


	5. Chapter 5: Cana Alberona

**Hey, I saw all the reviews you all posted and I'm super happy about them. Thanks for encouraging me to keep writing this story. You're all great! I'm all fired up now!**

 **But anyway, sorry for the wait, guys. I was just having trouble thinking of what to put next, but I finally typed something out. I hope you guys like it. It really isn't very eventful, and more to show some bonding with Cana and a bit with Erza and Mirajane. I mean, I know it was only three days, but I'd said I would put it up that night. Well anyway, hope you like!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

As Natsu and Erza looked for a house, Natsu couldn't help but notice how pretty Erza was. She had a beautiful face, framed by scarlet locks that reached the middle of her back. Her brown eyes were full of intense determination and intelligence. He was so entranced by her looks that he didn't realize she had stopped, and bumped right into her, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Natsu opened his eyes to see himself lying on top of her, their faces almost touching. His face immediately gained a reddish hue, matching Erza's, whose was as red as her hair. "U-uh s-sorry about t-that," Natsu said, quickly getting up and looking away.

"It was nothing but an accident; it's fine," Erza replied, wondering why her heart had been beating so quickly.

They finally picked out a good house after about an hour and a half of searching. It was near the outskirts of the town, and had a shingled roof. It was made of red bricks, and pretty sizeable. The interior wasn't too special, but there was a kitchen and dining room, a living room, one bathroom, and one master bedroom. All in all it was a nice house, and certainly fine for Natsu - he'd lived outside for a lot of his life.

He was given his keys, which he requipped into his magical dimension. Since the house didn't come with any furniture, Natsu and Erza bought some for him. They got a king-sized bed for no real reason. They purchased a dining table, some chairs, a couch, a couple smaller tables, and even a welcome mat. They also bought some cooking and eating utensils, and other necessary items. The best part was that Natsu could just requip it to take it back home, so it went a lot faster. After about two and a half hours, all of that was out of the way.

"So, Natsu, do you want to start learning how to cook today?" Erza asked kindly, happy that Natsu liked his house (she did, after all, help him choose it).

"Sure, why not?" was Natsu's reply as they walked into the kitchen.

Erza immediately started showing him how to use the stove and oven, and all of the basics of cooking. She gave him a book of recipes that he could start with, and told him he could buy ingredients at the store in town. After a good hour of this, Erza noticed it was getting late. "I should probably be going now, Natsu. I'll see you tomorrow. Hope you like your new house!"

Natsu immediately got into the bed, which was extremely soft. He liked it even more than Erza's, though he missed her presence. He quickly dozed off.

* * *

The next day at the guild, Natsu was greeted by Erza, who made it there before him. She told him she had a job to go on, and that it'd be a good idea for him to find one he could do alone as well. Natsu told her he'd look at the requests as she left the guild hall.

While Natsu scanned the board full of jobs, none of them catching his interest, he noticed a brown-haired girl around his age staring at him.

When he caught her eyes, she looked away quickly, realizing she'd been staring. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just… uh… you're strong, right?" she asked, seemingly regaining control of her body as she stepped back a pace.

Natsu shrugged as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, I guess you could say that. Probably one of the strongest in the guild hall at the moment," he said, thinking that he was almost definitely stronger than the master, and that none of the mages below him could be as powerful.

The girl looked at her feet sheepishly as she spoke. "I… um… I want to know if you can train me!" almost yelling the last part as she tried to get it out. "You know, if you want to, I mean, I know someone as strong as you wouldn't…" she said, trailing off.

Natsu was surprised, but not unpleasantly so. He had hoped to gain the trust of his new comrades, but didn't expect to be asked to act as a teacher for someone so quickly. "Sure, why not? I'd love to help any of my new guildmates."

The girl grinned from ear to ear. "Thanks so much, uh…, what's your name again?" she asked.

Natsu just smiled. "It's Natsu Dragneel. Yours?"

"Cana. Cana Alberona. I can't wait to start learning from you!" she was so elated she looked like she might pop from the joyfulness.

"Well, Cana, I'll have to know what type of magic you use," he said, wondering about what kind of magic user she was.

"I use card magic. I know you probably have never seen it before, but it's fine. I really just need to work on my magical power and my physical attributes," Cana replied.

As Natsu prepared the training regimen, he realized that he didn't know much of anything about the people of Fairy Tail. He wondered if he should ask people what others were like, but immediately discarded it in favor of learning their personalities through heart-felt experiences.

After a while, Natsu finished planning the training schedule. In the morning, Cana would warm up by running six miles, and then raising an additional quarter mile every week. After that, she would walk to the nearest mountain (luckily, there were an abundance of those at the outskirts of Magnolia) and grab some boulders. She would carry them as far as she could up the mountain. Once that was finished, they would have a meal and following it would be grueling training to get her magic power up. She'd be forced to use up all of her magic and attempt to draw even more, until she literally passed out. Natsu made sure that these days didn't happen to often, as someone's magic container could be ravaged by too much dependence continuously.

As he told Cana of her new schedule, she found the effort he'd put into his plan all for her quite impressive. She might've blushed if she weren't so excited to become stronger. He told her they'd start tomorrow, and that she needed to meet at his house at about 5:00 AM. He said he'd be making some breakfast so that they could eat before she began, which surprised and pleased Cana at the same time.

" _I can't believe he knows how to cook,"_ Cana thought with a smile. " _He'd make a good husband…"_

She suddenly came to her senses, remembering where she was and what she was doing. Natsu was saying goodbye and trudging off toward his house. Cana didn't know why, but she couldn't help but ask Natsu one more thing before he left. "Could you walk me home? I know it sounds silly, but I'm scared of the dark."

* * *

The next day in the guild, Erza returned from her mission to find out that Natsu was spending time training with Cana. She couldn't help but feel a sickening sensation in her stomach as she thought about the fact that he chose to be with Cana rather than herself. Almost immediately, however, a feeling of shame followed as she realized he just wanted to help his new guildmates.

Natsu and Cana were actually just finishing up their first day's training, and began their walk toward the latter's house. Natsu was half holding Cana up as she was extremely worn out. Once he arrived, he set Cana down on her bed and pulled the covers over her. She had already fallen asleep from exhaustion by the time he closed the door.

Natsu went back to the guild to greet Erza, who apparently had just gotten back from her mission, when he was stopped by Mirajane. She was wearing a white top and dark jeans, apparently choosing to forgo her older gothic clothing.

"Hey, Natsu. I know I was arrogant and obnoxious yesterday. I should've kept my mouth shut. I'm sorry for provoking you, especially since you turned out to be… pretty nice," Mira said with obvious sincerity.

Natsu was surprised to see Mira apologizing. She hadn't seemed like that type of person. "Thanks, but it's fine. I don't hold anything against you, Mira. No hard feelings, alright?"

Mira smiled, embracing him. Natsu was caught off guard, but quickly followed suit. They hugged for at least fifteen seconds - before it got awkward. They slowly disentangled themselves from each other and stepped back. Both were looking anywhere but the other's eyes.

Mira spoke first. "Well… uh, I'd better get home. I'll see you around, Natsu," she said, turning away and walking in the other direction.

Natsu just smiled before heading back to his own place. He had to admit, he was really liking Fairy Tail.

" _Thanks for showing me the way here, Dad."_

 **Well, that's finished. A timeskip to after Lisanna's death will come soon, perhaps next chapter or the one after. I will also probably have another timeskip shortly after to where he meets Lucy. This way they're all grown up and around seventeen years old or older.**

 **Peace out!**


	6. Chapter 6: Lisanna Strauss

**Hey again, guys. I'm suuuuuper happy about these positive reviews and the follows and favorites. This being my first fanfiction, and having started it four days ago, I can't believe how much people like it. I hope you all continue to enjoy it. By the way, the title could be a bit of a misnomer. It's not really all about Lisanna, and more to show that this chapter is when Lisanna is "debuted" as part of the harem.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

The sun shone brightly on Magnolia, revealing two people in a clearing inside one of the surrounding forests. Sounds of intense fighting could be heard, as well as pants of exhaustion. The two, as you may have guessed, were none other than the Fairy Tail wizards Natsu and Cana.

They were both in a fighting stance, though one was obviously sloppier than the other. Cana was gasping for air and sweating furiously as she kicked, punched, and sometimes threw magic cards at Natsu. He simply dodged most or when easier he would block them.

This was a newer training exercise. It made Cana think about the cards she could use based on her opponent's power - in this case, Natsu's ability to eat fire, air, ice, and lightning. She also had to work on her accuracy, as constantly shooting a moving object is far more difficult than hitting an unmoving one. It built her strength and magic power up as well.

"Come on, Cana! You're not aiming anymore! It doesn't matter how many times you use a spell if it can't touch me. You need to stop and watch your target - otherwise, you'll always miss," he said calmly, though it was obvious he wanted her to keep trying.

Cana smiled to herself. This was one of the reasons Natsu was such a great teacher. No matter how tired she got, he would never tell her to call it quits. She wanted to get strong, and that's what he would help her do. He continuously encouraged her, not seeming to care how much time it took - how much less time he had for himself. Although he'd only very recently joined, he was already helping his new guildmates as much as possible.

After a particularly powerful attack (that did little to Natsu, mind you), Cana felt the day's training catch up to her as she began to fall forward. Natsu immediately teleported to her and caught Cana before she touched the ground. He chuckled. "You really do give it your all. I like that about you, Cana," he said quietly, thinking she was no longer conscious.

Cana, however, heard exactly what he said and blushed furiously. Luckily for her, Natsu wasn't paying attention. He had apparently realized how late it was getting and figured he needed to take her back to Fairy Hills. He hoped it wouldn't be necessary to climb through the window like he had last time so that he was not slowed down by Hilda.

Cana noticed this as well when she opened her eyes. She guessed what Natsu was thinking, and looked up at him, still in his arms. "Natsu?"

Natsu looked down at hearing his name. "Hm?"

"I was wondering if… I could stay at your house for the night… I don't want to make you walk back to Fairy Hills is all," Cana replied anxiously.

Natsu was a bit surprised. "Are you sure? I only have one bed."

At this new piece of information, Cana's heart rate sped up to an almost unhealthy level. " _Sleeping in the same bed… as Natsu?"_ she thought. She nodded to him with a small smile.

Natsu grinned. "Well, if you insist."

When they got to his house, Natsu set Cana down and told her he was going to go take a shower, and that she could take one after him. Cana, having gotten sweaty during training, asked where his washing lacrima was.

"I don't have one. I can just wash my clothes by creating ice around them, melting it with fire, then drying it with air. If you want, I can do the same with your clothes while you're taking a shower," he offered.

Cana laughed. "Of course you would do something like that." She thought about his offering, and realized he'd have to wash her undergarments as well. Although she was a little embarrassed at the thought, she knew Natsu was beyond decent and that he wouldn't comment on them at all. She nodded slightly as he walked into his bathroom. Pretty soon she heard water falling, and after a while it stopped. He came out in his same outfit (apparently having "washed" it the way he usually does) completely dry. This was an obvious plus of being a fire and sky dragon slayer.

He nodded at Cana and gestured to the door he had recently walked out of. "You can leave your clothes out here. I'll wait in the bedroom."

Cana quickly undressed and left her clothing in a pile on the couch. She walked into the bathroom before yelling to Natsu that she was done, and started the shower.

* * *

Not very much later, they both were in bed together, maybe seven inches apart. They quickly fell asleep, comfortable and happy for a nice rest after a day of training (it was far more comforting to Cana, who had done most of the training).

The next morning, Cana awoke to the aroma of mouth-watering breakfast. She got up and walked into the kitchen to see Natsu cooking. He heard her and looked up, a smile on his face. "Finally up, huh?"

Cana laughed. "Whatever. It's your fault that you wore me out so much," she said.

"The last time I checked, I was the teacher here. And I say training's not training if it doesn't cause you to sleep till noon," Natsu said with a grin.

Cana looked at the food he was cooking. "I can't say I'm disappointed. These meals are worth the pain."

Natsu grinned even wider. "Aw, don't tell me that's the _real_ reason you asked me to train you?" he said, putting on an exaggerated pouting face.

* * *

When the two arrived at the guild, Natsu drew curious looks from the members. All of them had heard of how the newest arrival new four dragon slayer magics, requip, telepathy, and teleportation. They'd also heard that he'd beaten Gray and Mira with one hit each.

Cana almost laughed out loud at the sight. Some of them looked fearful, others looked curious, and quite a few of the females looked envious of Cana. " _I'll have to look out for them. Natsu's mine,"_ she thought to herself. Then she realized what she was thinking. " _Why am I thinking that? Natsu's just my teacher and friend, nothing else… right?"_ She wasn't sure how to answer her question.

She looked over at Natsu. "Hey, Natsu? I think I'm going to go on a solo mission today. I'll see you later."

"Alright. Good luck, Cana," he responded with a grin.

Not long after she left, a certain white-haired girl walked up to Natsu when he sat down.

"Hey, Lisanna," Natsu told her.

Lisanna took a seat beside him and smiled. "Did you talk to my sister about anything the night before last? She's been acting a lot different lately."

Natsu nodded. "She came and apologized to me about challenging me. I forgave her, and we hugged. That was it, though."

Lisanna's eyes widened. " _No way! She actually hugged someone? And of all people, one she had met only that day?"_ She hid her surprise, however. "That could be it. She's been a lot nicer to other people recently. Thanks. Mira's had a bit of trouble opening up to others, but I think you changed her."

Natsu was surprised, but extremely happy. "Wow! I'm really glad. And it's nothing - you don't need to say thanks. I only did what anyone else would do."

Lisanna shook her head. "You're wrong. You are one of the kindest people I've ever met, not to mention one of the most powerful. I really admire you, Natsu," she said. As she kept speaking, she began to blush, realizing that what she was saying was true. " _And not only that, but he's super handsome as well!"_

Natsu blushed lightly as well as he rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks, Lisanna. I think you're really nice, too," he said, grinning at the last bit.

They looked at each other a little awkwardly, with Lisanna eventually speaking first. "Well, I need to go find Mira. I'll see you around, Natsu."

The dragon slayer smiled. " _The people at this guild really are super cool."_

 **That's done! I hope you liked the chapter. On a side note, a few of you have been asking about adding "lemons." I actually plan on doing some, though it's not like I have any experience with them. Of course, this will have to wait until maybe two more chapters as they aren't quite at an appropriate age. And about the harem, I'm going to add most of the main women in the series (sounds pretty weird, huh?), except for those that haven't been introduced in the anime yet. This is because I feel like since many people don't read the manga (including me, actually), it'd be unfair to have them not know what's going on. Anyway, until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7: The Strongest in Fairy Tail

**Hey again. We have a new chapter. I really wanted to thank you guys again for the reviews, followers, and favorites. I really didn't expect that within five days I would almost have a hundred followers. I haven't gotten one single negative review, though I would appreciate some critique. I won't get angry or anything, since it's all just opinion. Also, if you notice any misspellings (make sure they're really misspellings), please private message me. I'd like to be told. I don't actually ever edit my stuff, but I am naturally good at writing grammatically as a result of constant reading. Well, anyway, I hope you like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

About a month and a half have passed since Natsu Dragneel joined the guild Fairy Tail. He's become friends with each member, and a tad more than friends with a few others. He was soon ranked S-Class just by the performances on his missions, not to mention the fact that he defeated Laxus without any effort (it's a long story), though the outcome was expected because of Natsu's mastery of Lightning Dragon Slayer magic. Cana's training has gone well, and Natsu has bonded with all of his guildmates.

"Prepare for Gildarts Shift! Citizens, to your arranged positions immediately!" the voice rang out across Magnolia. People shouted as they got into their houses or backed into the nearest building. In the guild in the middle of Magnolia, however, there was just jubilant celebration.

The ground seemingly broke apart, and buildings began moving away from each other, creating a path to walk through. A lone man with a torn cloak walked through the path straight to the guild in the center. At the doors, he stopped for a moment, before kicking them straight open. "I'm BACK!" he shouted.

"Gildarts!"

"How'd the quest go?"

"Did you break anything?"

"It's been forever!"

Gildarts smiled. "It's only been six months. You'd think I've been gone for a long time!" he laughed.

The rest of the guild laughed along with him at his statement. Natsu, however, looked at him curiously. " _So this is the most powerful Fairy Tail wizard I've been hearing about. I need to test myself against him; otherwise I'll never know how strong I really am."_

While Gildarts was being greeted by the rest of the guild, Natsu stood back. Eventually, Gildarts noticed Natsu behind everyone else. "Ah… I see a new face here," he said as he walked up to the dragon slayer. "What's your name, kid?"

Natsu looked up at him. "It's Natsu Dragneel. I've heard about you."

Gildarts chuckled. "I hope it was all good things! So, when'd you join?"

Natsu nodded at his first statement. "A little over a month ago. By the way, people have been telling me you're the strongest in the guild. Could I test my strength against you in a battle?"

Gildarts looked surprised. "I don't know how to say this, but I'm not just a strong wizard. I don't want to hurt you, kid."

Natsu frowned. "I'm an S-Class wizard, and I need to see how powerful I really am. Just don't hold back, and I won't either."

Gildarts looked at him for a moment. "If that's what you really want, then we can do it tomorrow. I'm pretty worn out from my last job."

Natsu nodded as he went back to greeting the others. Most of the guild had been listening to their conversation, and began whispering about who they thought would win. They knew Gildarts was supposed to be the most powerful, but Natsu had never shown his full strength.

Makarov had expected Natsu's challenge, and wondered as well what the outcome of their fight would be. Erza was concerned for Natsu's safety, and not unduly. Though she wasn't the only one. Mira, Cana, and Lisanna shared in her worry.

Pretty soon, Gildarts left to go back to his house in Magnolia, and the rest of the guild shuffled out. Natsu was one of the last to leave, but someone stopped him. He turned his head to see Cana grabbing his arm.

"Natsu? Can… can I tell you something?" she asked nervously.

Natsu grinned. "Of course you can! You can tell me anything," Natsu assured her.

Cana smiled a little. "In… private?"

"Sure. How about we go over to my house?"

"Sounds good."

* * *

Back at Natsu's home, he and Cana were sitting beside each other on the bed. Cana had declined to speak until they were inside, and Natsu was concerned.

He put his arm around her neck, causing Cana to blush at the contact. "I'm starting to worry. What's wrong, Cana?" He pulled her a little closer.

Cana looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I need… I need to tell him who I am!" she shouted. She put her head into Natsu's chest as she cried.

Natsu's eyes widened, but he put his other arm around her, bringing her into a hug. "It's fine… just calm down. I'll always be here for you."

Cana smiled at him. " _He'll always be there for me…. I don't know what to say. Is this love?"_

"Natsu… thanks. I just need to tell someone about this; to get the weight off my chest."

Natsu smiled back. "Like I said, you can tell me anything."

Cana hesitated before speaking again. "Gildarts… he's… well, he's… my father," she finally finished.

"What? Why's that so bad?"

"You don't understand. He doesn't know that he's my father. I never had the chance to tell him, and I don't know what to do anymore. I asked if you would train me because I wanted to be strong enough that he would respect me before I told him," she explained.

Natsu hugged her even more tightly. "I think you're strong enough now. Not only that, but you're kind, smart, and beautiful. If that's good enough for me, it should be good enough for him, too."

Cana's eyes widened. " _...Beautiful?"_ "Thanks so much, Natsu. You always know what to say. And guess what? Tomorrow, after you beat him, I'm going to tell him that I'm his daughter."

Natsu smiled at her. "That's great. Just remember, you can always talk to me."

"Is it alright if I stay the night?"

"I don't see why not."

Cana cuddled up to his warmth in the bed as they dozed off together.

* * *

When Natsu and Cana arrived at the guild, they immediately saw Gildarts sitting at the bar. Natsu walked over and looked at him askance. Gildarts responded with a slight nod, and motioned toward the doors. "I've been waiting. Master says we should find a good place to fight, so that we don't destroy anything."

Eventually, Natsu and Gildarts arrived at a large field of grass, which Natsu quickly burned down. Gildarts looked at him questioningly. "A clear arena," Natsu explained.

Cana had taken the liberty of telling every member that they were about to fight. Most of the guild was standing together well away from the two.

Makarov had come as well. Natsu smiled at Gildarts. "I hope this is a good fight." Gildarts just grinned back as the guildmaster stood up on a stool. "Three, two, one, BEGIN!" he shouted.

Gildarts rushed forward, planning to end the fight in one hit. Natsu had other plans, however, as he ran out of the way.

Gildarts turned around and saw Natsu again. He threw a bit of his crash magic at him, hoping to make him reveal his magic. As he did it, however, a glow came from behind. He figured it was just the sun, since Natsu was still running from his crash magic.

But then, out of nowhere, a yell came from the same direction. "Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar!" came the voice of Natsu.

An insane amount of lightning-enforced flame flew straight at Gildarts from behind, who didn't see it coming in the least bit. It hit him straight on, knocking him into the crater that was forming. It was about fifty meters across, and at least sixty deep. Gildarts was slammed into the bottom as he coughed up blood. " _No way! That one attack took me out. How did he even do it?"_

Natsu didn't smile, or cheer for his victory. He could tell Gildarts wasn't going to give up, and there was no point in letting his guard down. He did, however, know that it would be smart to finish him before he got back up.

Natsu teleported behind him, and chopped the back of his neck, knocking him out. Making sure he wasn't hurt too bad, he brought him back up to the surface. The rest of the guild was shocked. A few people had bet on Natsu, but no one expected him to win so easily. Even Makarov was at a loss for words. No one was even positive how he had done it.

Natsu brought him over to the others. "I didn't hurt him too bad. Maybe a couple of broken ribs, but the rest is nothing healing magic can't handle." He put his hands on Gildarts' chest as a blue glow emanated from them. His cuts closed, bruises faded, and bleeding stopped. "I'll go take him back to the infirmary. That was a good fight."

The rest of the guild finally began regaining the ability to speak as Natsu disappeared. As people began talking about this latest development, Makarov started to get over it and laughed at Natsu's words. " _He said 'a good fight.' I wonder about his limits."_

Mira, Cana, Erza, and Lisanna were chuckling to themselves about how worried they'd been. Though it hadn't seemed possible, they now admired Natsu even more. His strength was outstanding, but he didn't gloat one bit. It seemed he cared more about how Gildarts' fared afterwards rather than celebrating. It was also very interesting that he knew healing magic. " _Not what you'd expect from a male wizard. They usually like fighting more than actually helping others recover. He really is one of a kind."_

 **Before any of you say something about the fight being anti-climatic or far too easy for Natsu, I want you to remember how intelligent he is now. He chose his magic based on its usefulness. He was smart about how he fought, rather than rushing in without a plan. Natsu himself will explain why and what he did in the next chapter, though. Also (this isn't really a spoiler since it's not a big thing), Natsu had to use a whole ninety percent of his full strength in his roar. Well, I hope you liked it. Cya lates, mates (wow ur so cool lepidus)!**


	8. Chapter 8: Celebration

**What's up? Here's a new chapter. It's really short, so I'm sorry. There's not a lot more to say. However, I should be done with the next chapter today or tomorrow. It will start with a timeskip to after Lisanna's "death." Then, the chapter after that will most likely be a timeskip to where canon starts, but it'll be a little later so that Natsu will be about seventeen and a half. Hope you guys like this little chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

In the infirmary of the Fairy Tail guild hall, a pink-haired male explained someone's condition to the nurse as that someone began opening his eyes.

"I healed most of his wounds, and alleviated the pain of the worst parts. I have a feeling he broke a coup-" Natsu stopped as he noticed Gildarts waking up.

"Hey, Gildarts. I hope I didn't hurt you too bad," Natsu said, obviously concerned.

Gildarts looked over at Natsu, who was at the side of his bed. "Hah… I can't complain. I haven't lost a battle in the past ten years. That was fun."

Natsu laughed. "I still think you have more magic power and more physical strength. I just used my different magics as an advantage."

Gildarts smiled, but then frowned. "How did you even do it? I saw you in front of me before I got blasted."

"Well, I did a few things. First, let me tell you my different magics. I know Fire Dragon Slayer, Lightning Dragon Slayer, Ice Dragon Slayer, and Sky Dragon Slayer magics. I also am an expert at requip and teleportation, and I'm adept at telepathy."

Gildarts' eyes widened. "Seriously? Seven different kinds, and four are dragon slayer magics - Lost Magic!"

Natsu grinned. "It's true. Anyway, when you rushed me I created an Ice Clone right in front of me, then teleported away. I then teleported back behind you, requipped into my Flame King armor, and proceeded to attack with my Lightning Fire Dragon Roar. I can combine most of my Dragon Slayer magics, except for Ice and Fire. My Flame King armor amplifies the strength of my fire as well. I had to use an entire ninety percent of my full strength in that attack, and you still weren't done. So I just teleported down there and knocked you out."

Gildarts was shocked. " _Not even his full power?"_ "I don't know what to say, kid. You really are something else. To be able to combine them so easily, and to use your different magics all at once is quite a feat. You're definitely qualified to be a Wizard Saint. In fact, I think Makarov will inform the Council of your strength sometime soon."

"Thanks, Gildarts. And that would be awesome. Being a Wizard Saint…"

Just then, most of the guild came walking into the guildhall, having watched Natsu and Gildarts fight. Voices rang out as people shouted about how Natsu won.

"Just one attack!"

"How'd he do it?!"

"Natsu must be stronger than the master!"

At this, Natsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Gildarts gestured for him to go talk to his guildmates, so Natsu nodded and walked out of the infirmary. Almost immediately, he was hugged by Erza, Cana, Mira, and Lisanna without warning. The rest of the guild was just yelling and congratulating him.

As Natsu grinned at them, the four girls realized they were all grabbing him rather tightly, and in the middle of the guild. They slowly let go with red faces and turned around awkwardly. Luckily, none of the guild was watching. Well, except for Makarov, who laughed heartily as he realized that Natsu had so many attractive girls after him.

" _Hmph… wish I was still young…"_

* * *

Eventually, Natsu had explained to the whole guild how he'd beaten Gildarts, and they were even more shocked. They all cheered even louder, though Natsu was getting tired. "Sorry, guys, but that fight really took it out of me. I'm gonna go home now - see you all later."

He walked out the guild doors with a content but worn-out expression on his face. The guild was a little sad, but realized how late it was as well. Most of them shuffled out as a few stayed behind with the master. These few included Mira, Cana, Erza, and Lisanna.

"Master, will Natsu become a Wizard Saint?" Erza asked.

Makarov laughed. "I don't see why he wouldn't. He's kind, smart, and modest - not to mention beyond powerful. Maybe in a few months I could talk to the council about him."

The girls smiled. "He _does_ deserve it, alright," Cana said.

Pretty soon, they all left, with Makarov the only one still there - not including Gildarts, who was in the infirmary.

" _That kid is going to grow up to do amazing things, I just know it."_

 **Like I said, that's it. Thanks again for the positive reviews and just for reading. Well, the next chapter will be up by at least sometime tomorrow. Peace out!**


	9. Chapter 9: Resolution

**Wassup, mates? Here's a new chapter. Not super long, but that's because I didn't want another timeskip so soon. That's right. Next timeskip will start right before the canon Fairy Tail begins. Hope ya like.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

It was a gloomy day in Magnolia. Near the outskirts, a pink-haired man in a purple cloak wept in front of a grave, muttering under his breath.

The pink-haired male, also known as Natsu Dragneel, was saying the same thing over and over to himself. "I'm weak. I'm weak. I'm weak. _I'm too weak!_ " he yelled at the end as he punched the ground beside him, creating a small crater.

Natsu had an unreadable expression as he stood up. He clenched his fists, and fire burst out of his feet, projecting him into the sky. He landed in an empty clearing. His face still devoid of emotion, he requipped his sword out as fire flared along its sides.

He began training.

* * *

Two and a half years have passed since Natsu joined Fairy Tail. Gildarts is aware of his relation to Cana, and has been with Cana more - going on jobs less. Most of Fairy Tail, particularly Erza, Cana, Mira, and Lisanna, have trained relentlessly so that they can reach Natsu's level. And about two years ago, Natsu was offered a position as a Wizard Saint. Of course, he declined the offer, saying that he didn't like responsibility.

Unfortunately, only a week ago, Lisanna was killed in a mission. The guild has been sad ever since, and Mira, Elfman, and even Natsu have blamed themselves for her death. Natsu had been on a job at the time, and Mira and Elfman weren't strong enough to do anything.

"BOOM!"

In the guild hall, people looked up at the sound. Most had been sulking, and some just weren't coming to the guild. Erza narrowed her eyes at the explosion - or what sounded like an explosion.

"I'm going to go check that out," Erza said as she walked out the doors.

Erza followed the noise - which repeated itself many times - to a large clearing surrounded by mountains. At least, it was supposed to be surrounded by mountains. She looked in disbelief at the destruction. The mountains were completely gone, and insanely large craters disfigured the ground. As she looked around for the cause, an unbelievable amount of fire full of lightning blasted straight at her.

With sharp reactions. she yelled, "Adamantine Armor!" Her requip was almost instantaneous as she pushed the two large half-shields together that she had recently summoned.

She was just in the nick of time. The lightning-enforced fire hit the shield and knocked her back at least thirty meters. Her shield slowly broke apart, and the armor started to follow before the relentless attack ended.

Requipping into her Heaven's Wheel Armor, she looked around for the enemy. She finally noticed someone in the middle of the destruction. It was Natsu.

"Natsu? What are you doing out here?!" she yelled to him as she requipped into her Heart Kreuz Armor.

Natsu turned at the sound of his name. "Erza?"

"The whole guild could hear you, so I decided to check out what was going on. So what's going on?" Erza asked.

Natsu looked at her with emotionless eyes. "Training," he stated simply.

Erza was taken aback by his expression. "Natsu? Are you alright?"

Natsu didn't smile reassuringly, or laugh at her concern. Instead he answered in a few words, "I need to be stronger for my friends."

Erza looked at him for a moment, before walking over and embracing him. "You can't blame yourself for Lisanna's death. You weren't even aware they had gone on a mission. Being more powerful would have changed nothing. In fact, by your reasoning, we would all be responsible for her death. You need to think about how she would react to seeing you this way. Lisanna would always try to make everyone smile and laugh. She would hate to see you here, sad because of her."

With every word, she pulled him closer. "And I hate to see you sad as well. If you won't do this for yourself, do it for all of your friends," she whispered into his ear.

Suddenly, Natsu began crying. "Y-you're r-right…"

Erza requipped into her white blouse and skirt, so as to not hurt him with her armor.

Natsu pulled away for a moment. "B-but still, I… I need to train to help my friends."

Erza smiled at him. "Then train. Get stronger for your friends. That's fine, but you can't live in the past, and continue blaming yourself for something you played no part in. In fact, even Mira has started to get over it. She's realized all of this herself, and knows what Lisanna would want."

Erza hugged him tightly again before letting go. "I'll train with you, Natsu."

* * *

Cana looked up from her latest barrel. "Those sounds are getting louder, and there are more of 'em. I wonder if Erza found anything."

She got up. "I'm gonna go see if Erza's okay."

When she got to the place recently occupied by Erza, she couldn't comprehend the ground and mountains having been obliterated. Where the mountains were was nothing but pieces of stone littered around in the grass. The "ground" was now a twenty-foot-deep pit.

As Cana looked into the pit, she noticed two familiar figures throwing magical attacks along with actual weapons everywhere. Their collisions with objects created loud explosion-like noises that could be heard miles away.

She realized the two figures were actually Natsu and Erza, and began walking toward them. "Guys! What are you doing?"

She made sure to watch out for the attacks that were flying everywhere. At her voice, they quickly stopped, and the two turned toward Cana.

"Hey, Cana. We're just training," Natsu replied with a smile that hadn't been seen since Lisanna died.

"I see you're upbeat. I can't let you and Erza have all of the fun, you know," she said as she took out a couple cards. "Let's train!"

 **So, yeah. Timeskip at beginning of next chapter as well. Peace.**


	10. Chapter 10: Lucy Heartfilia

**Hey again, guys! Sorry this chapter took longer than the rest - I was at a loss as to what I should write next. Eventually, I got it sorted it out, so everything's fine now. Hope you like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

Three and a half years have passed since the death of one of Fairy Tail's most loved wizards - Lisanna Strauss. Natsu vowed to get stronger to protect his friends, with Erza and Cana joining in. Pretty soon, a few others (namely Mira, Levy, and Bisca) began training with him - for the exact same reason, one might add.

Natsu is now eighteen years old, and on his way back from a mission. Currently, he is in the port city of Hargeon.

"Did you hear? It's Salamander!" a teenage girl squeals with delight.

"No way!" another responds.

"Yeah, he's in the middle of town! Let's go!"

Natsu was curious. Someone was either going by his nickname - masquerading as a Fairy Tail wizard, which Natsu would not approve of - or just happened to have the same moniker. He quickly decided to check it out, having nothing else to do.

Little did he know, a certain blonde-haired female of the same age was having similar thoughts. " _I've heard of him! He's a Fairy Tail wizard, right? I have to go see!"_

Pretty soon, Natsu arrived at the scene. A crowd of teenage girls surrounded a blue-haired male with a strange tattoo on his face. The girls all seemed to be falling over themselves to get his autograph, be near him, or even touch him.

Natsu teleported beside him. The man almost fell over in surprise. "Hello. I hear you're calling yourself Salamander? Could you tell me who you are?" Natsu asked, doubting he would have a good answer.

The man regained his composure quickly, deciding he must've missed the man walk through the crowd earlier. He stood up proudly. "Yes, I am Salamander. I am a Fairy Tail mage. Would you like an autograph?"

Natsu just scowled. "You're not a Fairy Tail wizard, and you're certainly not Salamander. That's my nickname, and my guild. Learn who you're impersonating before you try to trick him."

Natsu requipped a communication lacrima into his hand. He tapped it a few times before speaking. "Hello? It's Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail. Bora of Prominence is with me in the middle of Hargeon. Yes, he's in my custody. Alright, I'll take him there immediately."

Before anyone could react, he teleported into one of the Magic Council's outposts. He took him over to a guard. "This is Bora of Prominence. He's wanted for slave trading already, but now he's guilty of imitating a wizard of a guild. Keep the bounty."

Natsu quickly teleported back to the same spot in Hargeon. The girls were beginning to react with shock, fear, panic, and even anger. The last one sparked the great idea of attacking the skilled wizard who had just teleported about three times in a row within a few seconds.

None of the punches or kicks even affected him, but he realized he would need to explain. Natsu just telepathically communicated with them, explaining that Bora was an impostor, and was attempting to take them in as slaves for a trading market in a different land. Eventually they got the message and began walking away.

One girl around his age with blonde hair, however, walked up to Natsu. "I want to say thanks," she stated simply with a smile.

Natsu laughed. "I didn't really do anything. He was just some criminal, and not a very good one at that."

The girl laughed along with him at his modesty. "I'm sure you put him in the custody of the Magic Council, which is a pretty awesome feat considering it took about four seconds. Not only that, but you ended the charm spell. Thanks again. You know what? I want to repay you."

"If you say so. I guess I am kind of hungry, so thanks, …?" he ended, looking at her askance.

"Lucy. I know a place not far from here. Come on!"

Once they had arrived at the restaurant, Natsu ate ravenously. Fortunately, he still had some manners, having been taught by Erza. Lucy smiled at his antics.

"I'm a little disappointed about that guy being a fake. I was excited to meet a Fairy Tail wizard," Lucy said with a hint of sadness.

Natsu grinned at her mischievously. "You just did. He was impersonating me, in case you didn't hear."

Lucy's eyes widened. "No way! You're Salamander?"

Natsu nodded. "Not sure why they use that nickname. Only seems to pertain to my fire magic, to be honest. I guess it could have something to do with being very diverse…." he trailed off, his brow furrowed.

" _Wow, he looks really cute when he's thinking. I mean, now that I think about it, he's really attractive. Not only that, but he's a Fairy Tail wizard!"_ Lucy thought to herself with a blush.

Natsu noticed this but decided not to say anything. " _Not her, too? Man, all the girls I meet…."_

He spoke up. "So, are you in a guild?" He could already tell she was a wizard by his ability to see magic power.

Lucy shook her head. "I know it sounds silly, but I'd like to be in Fairy Tail."

Natsu laughed. "It's fine. In fact, you can come with me to the guild hall if you want to join. I'm sure you're a great wizard, and even if you aren't, then you'll get better from training and doing jobs," Natsu said encouragingly.

Lucy was happy beyond words. " _He's super nice, too!"_ Then she frowned a bit. "How'd you know I was a wizard?"

"I can sense magic power. Once you get strong enough, it's easy," Natsu replied.

"Seriously? Wow, you must be super powerful, huh?" Lucy replied, awestruck.

At this, Natsu grinned. "I'm not an S-Class wizard without reason," he said modestly.

* * *

Eventually, Lucy and Natsu arrived at the guild doors. Natsu gave Lucy a reassuring glance before grabbing a handle and pulling one of the doors open. He gestured for her to go in first, for which Lucy, after walking in, thanked him.

Almost immediately, a couch (which didn't even make sense because there were no couches in the guild hall) flew right at the two. Natsu caught it with one hand and set it down.

The guild slowly noticed the dragon slayer and the never-before-seen blonde female with him. They greeted them cheerfully, though most were wondering who the girl was.

As Natsu recognized their question without words, he responded while taking Lucy to the counter at the other side of the guild. "This is Lucy. She's joining Fairy Tail," he said with a smile.

The guild was silent for a moment, but quickly shouted "A new member! Let's party!" and went back to the exact same things they'd been doing, although with renewed vigor.

A gorgeous white-haired female sat at the bar in a pink dress. When Lucy noticed her, she immediately had a slight breakdown. " _It's Mirajane! She's all over Sorcerer Weekly! I can't believe I'm standing right by her! Mirajane! Oh my gosh!"_ she thought, almost squealing.

Natsu looked over at her with concern. "Lucy, are you alright?" he asked. After Lucy had calmed down and nodded at him, he turned back to the white-haired woman. "Hey, Mira! This is our new member, Lucy. She needs a stamp."

Mirajane smiled at Natsu. "Always a good thing for you to be back from a job, Natsu! I missed you," she said, embracing Natsu.

The dragon slayer hugged her back, smiling as well. "It was only a week!" he exclaimed, pretending to be annoyed.

Lucy watched this with a tinge of jealousy. " _What am I thinking? There's no way someone who does bikini-shoots on Sorcerer Weekly all of the time and claims the title of one of the most powerful female wizards in Fairy Tail could like Natsu! Though, he is really handsome… and he's also super strong. I wonder…"_ she thought to herself.

Lucy was brought back to reality by Natsu, who shook her gently. "Hey, Lucy? You need your stamp."

"I'm sorry. Can I have it on the back of my right hand?" she asked.

Natsu grinned. "Sure. What color?"

Lucy thought for a moment. After a moment, her eyes settled on Natsu's hair, and with a slight blush she responded. "I'd like it in pink."

"Great choice!" he said as he held the stamp on her hand. "You're all done, now. By the way, if you need accommodation, you can rent a dorm in Fairy Hills for a hundred thousand jewels a month. And if you're in need of cash, just ask me. I'm loaded since I never spend my money, and I do a whole lot of S-Class jobs," he said with a grin.

The reason for Lucy's color choice did not go unnoticed by Mira, who frowned slightly at the decision. " _I don't want any kind of competition, and she's not bad-looking,"_ she thought to herself.

"I do need somewhere to stay, so I'll check it out. But about the money - thanks, Natsu, but I couldn't ask for something like that," Lucy said, shaking her head slightly. " _Wow, he's so nice! I don't think I've ever met anyone who is this happy to help others."_

After realizing something, Lucy frowned. "Where's the master? Don't I need to ask him to join?" she asked.

Mira smiled. "Don't worry, Lucy. The master's on his way to a conference. I've been given authority for the moment, and I decide that you are a Fairy Tail member."

"Thanks, Mira!" Lucy said. As looked around for Natsu, she heard her name called out from the very same person.

"Hey, Lucy! Come over here!" he called.

She turned toward his voice and saw him at a strange billboard covered in papers.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked, walking toward him.

Natsu responded while looking at the papers. "This is the mission board. People make requests for wizards to complete, and they go up on whatever guilds they choose. Each one has a certain reward, and most of the time, the more cash there is, the more danger as well. I thought we could choose one to go on together, since it's your first."

"Oh, I get it. So what kind of mission should we go on?"

"Aha!" Natsu exclaimed as he plucked a paper off the board. "This one is perfect."

Lucy grinned. "Alright then - let's go!"

 **So, yeah. Natsu's met Lucy now. Also, you can tell that he's been having even more trouble with women - they all fall in love with him. Ugh, poor Natsu, am I right? Heh. Well, anyway, peace.**


	11. Chapter 11: The Mission

**What's up, home slices? aw man im so thuggish guys yeeee - Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. and then he waddld awai til da vry nxt dey doob doob doob doob doobee doob**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

"No way! So you chose that mission just because of this?" Lucy exclaimed, irritated.

While Natsu and Lucy were on the train, the latter asked to see the job Natsu had chosen. He handed over the paper with a small grin, knowing what her reaction would be.

"Well, yes. Jobs are to be chosen based on the specifics of who is attempting the mission," Natsu explained.

Lucy wasn't swayed. "You're saying you picked this one because he wants to hire a blonde maid?"

"Mhm. I thought it would be a good way to showcase my point to you, along with giving you experience. You're blonde, and - in my opinion - quite attractive. This job is perfect for you. However, if you don't want to do it then I can just teleport in there myself and complete the mission," Natsu said.

"W-well u-uh… I g-guess I can do it…." Lucy said, red-faced. " _He thinks I'm attractive?!"_

"That's great! We'll be there soon, by the way."

Lucy smiled as she regained her composure. "Alright, then. By the way, don't you think I need a maid outfit?"

Natsu grinned as he looked around the train. "Only if you want to. Did you know that I used to have insanely bad motion sickness when I was younger? You probably can't tell now, but I couldn't even use magic in that state."

"Oh, wow. You look fine right now. How'd you get over it?" Lucy asked, intrigued.

Natsu moved around in his seat. "Just thinking about it makes me a bit nauseated. I had to ride vehicle after vehicle for weeks before I could stand it. Luckily, Erza was with me," he said, ending with a smile.

"Erza? Who's that?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot that you haven't met her yet. She's also a Fairy Tail mage. An S-Class one like me," Natsu answered.

Lucy smiled. "Well, I can't wait to meet her."

"Well, she should be back around the time we finish this job. By the way, it looks like we're here."

* * *

Lucy and Natsu walked up the cobblestone path toward the large mansion. Carefully trimmed bushes lined the pathway, and bright flowers were in abundance in the organized garden.

Suddenly, Natsu put his hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Stop," he commanded quietly.

"What is it?" Lucy asked, a little taken aback by Natsu's strange action.

"I like to check things out before really getting into a job. Just wait here a moment, alright?" After getting a nod of understanding from Lucy, he disappeared.

"AH!" she screamed, but quickly put her hand over her mouth. " _That's gotta just be the magic he uses."_

After about twenty seconds, Natsu reappeared right beside her with a smile. "Everything's fine, Lucy," he said as he began walking down the path again.

"Uh… alright," Lucy said after regaining her composure. She followed Natsu's lead as they both got close to the entrance. Natsu knocked on the door, and the two waited patiently.

After a few moments, someone opened the door slightly, but did not show his face. Lucy was a little unnerved, but Natsu didn't seemed surprised in the least.

"We're Fairy Tail wizards. We are here for the mission," Natsu stated in a few words.

The person opened the door all the way, and was revealed to be a woman. "Oh, good. I'm sorry, but can you follow me around to the back of the h-" Natsu cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"I already know. Don't worry, we'll still do the mission. Lucy here needs some experience anyway," he finished with a smile.

The woman was at a loss for words. "W-wha… h-how?" she asked uncertainly.

Natsu laughed. "I'd rather not reveal my… skill set. I _am_ a mage for a reason, you know."

"W-well, of course. I, uh, just follow me. Thank you for accepting the job," the woman said after regaining the ability to function.

She held the door open for the two before closing it behind them. The woman took the lead, and Lucy and Natsu followed her, albeit for different reasons. Natsu knew perfectly well what was going on, having gathered knowledge of the happenings in the mansion. Lucy, on the other hand, only kept walking as a result of Natsu's confidence. Though she hadn't known him long, she knew he was a competent (well, that is an understatement) wizard, and intelligent to boot.

The woman led them into a large room with a high ceiling. It contained two large couches and other furniture. A few potted plants dotted the room, and a man with gray hair and a grim expression sat in the middle of one of the sofas. Upon seeing the woman, a look of surprise replaced his earlier countenance.

"These are the wizards that have come for the mission. Apparently, they are already aware of our… situation involving the mansion. Nonetheless, they have decided to willingly complete the job," the woman said.

The man was at a loss for words, the same as the woman had been earlier. "Are you sure?" he asked, obviously speaking to the two mages.

"Don't worry. I have money to spare," Natsu said with a reassuring grin. Lucy stayed silent, still confused as to what was going on.

The man replied with a weak smile. "The name is Kaby Melon. This is my wife, Masumi," he said, motioning toward the woman previously beside the two wizards that had walked over to him.

"The mission is to break into the Everlue mansion and destroy a certain book. Everlue is…"

* * *

A large residence occupied the sizeable clearing surrounded by tall trees. A metal gate stood front and center, with a fence of the same height but different thickness enveloping the rest of the area. Somewhere a while in front of the place were Natsu and Lucy.

A small pathway was present in the middle of the forest, with the two walking along it. The blond-haired one looked at the other with curiosity. The one with a purple cloak energetically led the way with an obvious spring in his step. It was clear he was excited for whatever was to come.

"Are you going to check it out again, Natsu?" Lucy asked with a sigh. She really wished she knew what Natsu was thinking. He seemed so strong and mysterious, but at the same time quite friendly.

The dragon slayer turned to the side to look at her as he let out a chuckle. "Well, yeah. If you want I can take you with me, actually. It'll feel pretty weird, and you've got to promise to be quiet."

Lucy stopped in her tracks and looked at him, wide-eyed. "Seriously?!" she exclaimed. "Are you going to do that little "vanish into thin air" thing?"

His footsteps caused slight movement in the grass as he nodded at her with a smile. "Yep. Though, it'd be a bit more appropriate to call it "turning into air" instead. It's just that not many people will think of a gust of wind as a threat. At least, none that I've met."

She was still pretty surprised, but now her intrigue outweighed her shock. " _What kind of magic allows you to_ turn into air _?"_ she wondered. Lucy hesitated a moment before deciding. "I'll… I'll do it. But you have to tell me what kind of magic you use afterward, alright?"

He winked mischievously as he grinned. "It's a deal." Then his cheery expression was switched with a serious one. "Now, grab my crotch."

Lucy almost fell over this time. "WHAT!?" she screamed as she blushed furiously.

Natsu waited a second longer before he bursted out laughing. "AHAHA! YOU SHOULD SEE THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE! I WAS JUST JOKING!" he cried out. By now, he was rolling on the ground slamming his fist repeatedly on the grass.

It took Lucy a moment before she finished comprehending his reaction. She immediately looked furious. "THAT WASN'T FUNNY!"

After about twenty more seconds of Natsu's maniacal laughter, he calmed down and stood up on wobbly legs. "Phew. I almost passed out there," he said seriously as he wiped some sweat off his forehead. There was a crater on the ground where he'd been venting his mirth, which Lucy noticed with an expression of slight awe. " _He made a_ crater _just from laughing too hard? I wonder if all Fairy Tail wizards are this strong."_

Lucy had calmed down as well. She sighed in acceptance. " _I think I was wrong about him. He's really just an idiot."_

Natsu had recovered from his uncontrollable laughter as he got the attention of the blonde. "Alright, Lucy. Just hold my hand for a second, and brace yourself. It'll feel like you're still holding onto my hand but you won't be able to see it at all. In fact, you won't be able to see any part of your body, or mine. Just make sure you don't let go," Natsu said as he put his hand out.

Lucy reluctantly grabbed his outstretched hand. "I'm ready, Natsu."

He nodded. Suddenly, she felt weightless. She looked down at herself as her eyes widened, even though Natsu had already warned her. None of her body was visible, yet she still felt her hand clutching Natsu's. She cried out, though she stopped herself as she remembered Natsu's condition - being quiet. However, she noticed that no sound came out. This scared her before she suddenly felt the ground again.

Lucy hadn't noticed the surroundings quickly change as they moved, hence her surprise that they were inside of a strange room. It took her a second to regain her senses after the quick transition between wind and her actual body, but Natsu grabbed her shoulder to steady her.

Natsu put a finger to lips - the universal sign for silence. Lucy nodded her head in acknowledgement as Natsu began releasing small bursts of magic out of his hands, which were touching the walls. As she looked around, she noticed that it was a well-furnished room with quite a show of wealth. " _This must be a room in Everlue's mansion. Seems he's very well-off,"_ she mused.

Suddenly, Natsu stopped using his magic on the walls. "There," he stated simply. Lucy was a little caught off guard after the long period of silence. "I set up sound-cancelling magic circles around this room. Figured I'd inform you before we kept going."

"Oh, alright. So what are we doing?" Lucy asked with interest.

"We're going to look around," Natsu answered with a grin. "Watch this," he said. Immediately, she felt a strange warmth envelope her as her arms faded away in her vision, but it was different from earlier. This time, she could still feel her body and move it normally, but she couldn't see it.

As Lucy looked up at Natsu, planning to ask him about it, he suddenly began disappearing as well. Then his voice rang out in the room. "Grab my hand again. Don't worry - I used a spell to make us invisible. I've already shielded us from magical and life-detecting radar," Natsu said as he grabbed her hand.

Lucy felt strange being able to move and touch things with her body no longer visible. At the same time, she kept bumping into things as they left because her depth perception was now quite off. Eventually, Natsu noticed this as he picked Lucy up bridal style.

She let out a small noise of surprise at his action, but realized that he must've assumed holding her would be easier. He stayed silent, though, as the sound-cancelling magic only worked in the room they'd been in. Now they had entered a long hallway with intricate paintings on the walls. Doors on the sides led to other rooms, which the two eventually explored but found nothing of interest inside.

After a while, they happened upon an open arch that led to a very large, circular room that they soon realized was a library. Hundreds of books lay on shelves lined the walls, with some furniture in the center for a comfortable reading space.

Lucy gasped as she looked at the collection of novels and other literature. "Who knew that Everlue was such a bookworm?" she muttered as she peered around the room.

Natsu scoffed at the sight. "I'm sure he only has these to look intelligent. Anyway, check this out - half of them are comic books."

"Of course they are…" Lucy mumbled in disappointment. "I'm actually quite a fan of reading, and I've been trying to write a book for a while."

Natsu looked at Lucy in surprise. "Really? I love to read as well. Never tried to write, though," he said approvingly. Then he grinned. "I bet that it'll be a really good book."

Lucy smiled back. "Thanks, Natsu," she said. "Though, on a bit of an unrelated topic, are all Fairy Tail wizards as strong as you?" she asked. She'd been pondering it for a while. Although she was happy that she was now an official Fairy Tail mage, she couldn't help but feel… inadequate.

"Hm… I'll tell you something if you promise to keep it a secret," Natsu said with a serious face. Lucy was curious but nodded. "Alright, then. I would bet my life that no one in Fairy Tail, not even the master, is as strong as I. I've only told a few people this, but I'm so powerful that I had to learn to suppress my magic power since it would crack the ground as I walked, and knock anyone nearby out."

Lucy looked at him in shock. "S-seriously?! H-how can y-you have that much magic power?" She'd never heard of someone having that much strength.

Natsu grinned. "I just train as hard as I can. And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to brag. It's really only because of hard work that I'm where I am now. My friends have believed in me too, and in return I've helped them get stronger as well. I can help you, too, if you'd like."

Lucy just shook her head in amazement. "Wow. You really are something else, Natsu. I'd love to learn from you," she said in awe.

"Aw, thanks. You're making me blush, Lucy," Natsu said with a childish smile as he hid his face.

* * *

After a while, Natsu and Lucy had looked at pretty much everything in the house, including the maids - which made Lucy want to gag and Natsu reprimand her for something they had no control over - and Everlue, who in this case agreed with Lucy as they both were a bit creeped out.

"Alright, Lucy. I'm gonna bring us back to the road and you can try to infiltrate the mansion on your own," Natsu finally said as they finished scouting out the mansion.

Immediately, Lucy felt a bit disconcerted as her surroundings changed to a view of a forest and a dirt road and her body became visible. These two phenomena caused her to lose her balance as Natsu caught her before she fell.

"Woah there, Lucy. Sorry about that. I forgot that you're not used to my magic. Speaking of which, you wanted me to tell you about mine, right?" he said.

Lucy finally regained her bearings as she pulled herself out of Natsu's arms. " _Now that I think about it, Natsu's touched and grabbed me a lot since we met. Er… that sounded a bit weird,"_ she thought to herself. She nodded in confirmation at Natsu's questioning look while she turned toward him.

A light yellow glow engulfed Natsu's hand for a moment, dissipating as quickly as it had appeared. In its place was a large couch that he proceeded to set beside himself. He gestured for Lucy to take a seat, and as she did, he followed suit.

"Well, the magic I used just now is called requip magic. It allows you to transport things in and out of a magical dimension that only you can access. Most users of it can only requip weapons into their hands. I and a one of my acquaintances, on the other hand, can requip anything, including armor, clothing, and furniture," Natsu explained.

"Wow… that's cool," Lucy said as she thought of how useful it could be.

Natsu smiled at her comment. "I also am a master of four different Dragon Slayer magics," he said. Before she could ask, he continued. "Dragon Slaying magic was devised by dragons to give humans the ability to eat, handle, and use for their own purposes a certain element. I was trained by four different dragons in Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Sky Dragon Slaying magic. Sky Dragon Slaying magic is especially helpful as it allows me to heal others. By the way, Dragon Slaying magic is a Lost Magic - one that has been rarely seen since ancient times."

Lucy looked at him in awe, speechless.

"I can use teleportation, too. Though, it's more like extreme speed. It really allows me to travel far distances or through objects in a very small amount of time. My magic is transformed into speed, and my body is transformed into a gas-like state. However, it's such a short amount of time that it feels as if it's instantaneous," Natsu continued.

Lucy wasn't sure how much more amazed she could be. She was in the presence of one of the most powerful wizards around - at least, that she knew of. If he was the most powerful by far of everyone in Fairy Tail, then because Fairy Tail is the number one guild, he had to be way up there on the strongest mages list.

"I am a master of telepathy as well. I am so skilled in it that I can detect deep emotions in others, and if I concentrate I can sometimes notice unique thoughts. Normally, it's only used to communicate without your voice. After you're good enough in it, you can do things like I can."

"In case you were wondering, I used a special Dragon Slaying magic that allows me to change into my respective element when we checked out the mansion - I use the Sky version for stealth operations, as you can see. Lightning is more useful in speed. Fire is better if I want to hurt others while using it, and Ice is good as a physical attack."

"I know a few others very well, but I try to keep those a secret," Natsu finished as Lucy had almost fainted in astonishment.

She just looked at him as if she couldn't comprehend how powerful he was. Suddenly, Natsu became quite conscientious of the fact that he most likely sounded as if he was boasting as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sure there are other wizards out there that are stronger, though," he said with a small chuckle.

"W-well… I guess we- I mean _I_ had better start the job, huh?" Lucy asked, still astounded at his apparent strength.

Natsu nodded and smiled encouragingly. "Yep. I'm sure you'll do fine, Lucy," he added as they started their walk toward the aforementioned mansion.

 **Uh-huh. Pretty lame, eh? Sorry for taking so long. I was a little... preoccupied reading a bunch of Fairy Tail fanfiction. By the way, I'm trying to do some longer chapters, because I noticed (and one person mentioned it) that quite a few were very short. I want each one to be at least three thousand words, but I'll most likely do more. It's more of a "it'd be a bit better if you got around that much" rather than "write to exactly three thousand words and end it there." Also, people have been asking about Happy's whereabouts - I've PMed them personally because I don't see the point in putting your replies to reviews in your chapter. Happy is with someone else in this story, but he'll come into play a while later. Anyway, thanks for following, favoriting, and reviewing. See you next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12: Mansion Mayhem

**Yo, rad wicked kidz! How ya doin'? Just kidding, I don't care. Just read this crap and get out of here.**

 **Anyway, here's the chapter. Also, two hundred freaking follows! Seriously? My first fanfiction that I started the day I joined is now at two hundred followers after less than a month. You guys must like it, so I'll continue to supply and hopefully please.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

"How do I look, _master_?"

"You look fine, Lucy. The real question is whether Everlue will agree."

Lucy sighed. " _Can't believe he didn't have a better reaction. Well, at least he's not a pervert…"_ she thought to herself.

Once the two had gotten close to Everlue's mansion, Lucy took out a maid outfit that she put on behind a tree. Natsu was a little surprised, because he didn't think she'd actually wear a traditional maid's attire while applying for the job. When Lucy finished, she kept trying to "seduce" Natsu - though what actually happened was she bored him because she wouldn't stop messing around.

"Alright, Natsu. Let's just start, okay?"

Natsu laughed as he stood up. "You say it like I've been holding you back this whole time," he said wryly. "I'm going to be somewhere right around you, because I can't let you get hurt. Remember, though, that I won't help unless you're in danger."

Lucy was touched by Natsu's concern. "Thanks, Natsu. Let's get this show on the road, shall we?" she asked with a grin, moving toward the large gate.

"Alright, then! Go get 'em," was Natsu's reply. He quickly disappeared as he followed her.

Once she reached the gate, Lucy knocked on it - she wasn't sure what to do - with quite a bit of nervousness. Fortunately (or rather, unfortunately), the ground behind her exploded as a huge pink-haired giant with a similar get up as Lucy wore popped out of the ground.

Lucy looked at her fearfully, even though she'd seen her before when she went with Natsu. "I assume you're here for the maid position?" the giant boomed. "We'll see if the master approves."

As if on cue, a short man popped out of the ground beside her in the same fashion as the maid. "Boyoyo! Did someone say master?" he spoke excitedly. Lucy recognized him as Everlue. He had a small amount of light brown hair on his head, with a large mustache as well. He wore a black tuxedo with one large, yellow button. A rose lay upon the left side of his chest.

"Let's see here," he said as if in great thought. "I'll pass. Now scram, ugly," he finished as he went back down the hole.

Lucy looked at him in shock as the giant grabbed her. "You heard the master," she said loudly as she threw her into the forest from whence she came. Lucy just waited for the impact, but before she hit anything, strong arms grabbed her and she felt a comforting warmth.

"Natsu…" she said as she looked up at him. Natsu grinned back down at her before setting her onto the ground.

"I guess he has a… different view on beauty, huh?" Natsu said, laughing slightly.

Lucy remembered the last few moments, and started pouting. "They said I was ugly…" she muttered sulkily.

"Hey, it's alright. I'll help you this time. Come on, Lucy," Natsu comforted her. "We've gotta go show him who's boss, okay?"

Lucy nodded determinedly. "Yeah! And to get back at him I'm gonna scrub his toilet with his toothbrush!" she said mischievously.

Natsu paled. "I think that's going a little too far, Lucy. Let's do something less drastic, like stealing his valuables," he told her sarcastically.

Lucy didn't seem to notice his sardonicism, and treated his response seriously. "Hmm… that sounds like a plan, Natsu! Let's go!" She immediately took off in the direction she'd been thrown from.

Natsu sighed as he shook his head. "I'm way too lazy to stop her. I'm sure they've seen her by now, so I guess I'll just beat 'em up," he said to himself. " _Huh… why do I feel like I've said something similar to that before? Ah, nevermind,"_ he thought.

He eventually followed her, though with far less gusto than was showcased by the one leading. After about twenty seconds, he stopped and looked forward expectantly. Instantly, Lucy came running into view with a dispirited and slightly embarrassed expression.

"I was waiting for you to come back. Can't believe it took you so long to realize that you're not exactly cut out for wanton destruction," Natsu said disapprovingly.

Lucy looked at the ground sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I guess I got a little carried away. Hehe."

Natsu laughed. "It's fine. I guess you can just follow me this time. I'll take care of everyone, get the book, and then we can go back to the guild."

"Ooh! I can't wait to see you fight!" Lucy said excitedly. She was very eager to watch Natsu use his magic.

Natsu frowned. "Unless those two guys with the frying pan are as strong as two Wizard Saints each, the only magic I might use is teleportation, so I'm sorry if that's what you wanted to see," Natsu replied.

"Oh… aw. Wait a second - are you that physically strong?" Lucy asked, her feelings changing from disappointment to curiosity.

Natsu nodded with a grin. "Yep. It's a bit unusual for wizards, but as a Dragon Slayer I have enhanced strength, speed, and senses. As a mage with four Dragon Slayer magics, you have to imagine that but multiplied by four. Not to mention my constant physical training. I can destroy the average mountain with a light punch," he said truthfully, not attempting to sound modest - he opted for honesty rather than downplaying.

Lucy wasn't actually too surprised. " _Considering his magical strength, it's not a big shocker that he is so physically powerful as well,"_ she thought to herself.

"Well, Natsu, I have no idea what to say except that you're pretty freaking cool," Lucy responded calmly.

Natsu nodded. "You're right. Others should worship my glorious power. Bow down to me, mortal!" he said with a straight face, glaring at Lucy.

Lucy was actually a bit scared for a moment before she regained her composure. "Ugh, I take back what I said. You're just a weirdo," she sighed.

"Alright, morta- I mean Lucy, follow me!" Natsu said with enthusiasm.

Lucy shook her head as he led the way.

* * *

The two eventually made their way to the large, metal gate. Natsu grinned at Lucy before tapping it. The gate immediately was thrown into the doorway, which exploded on impact.

"And there's our ticket in," Natsu said cheerfully.

Lucy tucked her amazement away for another time as she followed him into the mansion.

"INTRUDER ALERT! GET 'EM, GIRLS!" came a loud voice as the ground in front of Natsu exploded. The giant maid from before along with the others held staffs in their hands as they attacked.

Without looking, Natsu just waved his hand in the air, which caused a huge wave of air to smash into the maids, knocking them all unconscious. The large pink-haired one fell through the hole she came from as the two kept walking.

They already knew where the library was, so that was where they were headed. Upon arriving, Natsu walked over and grabbed the book they needed off of a shelf.

"Hey! That book's by Kemu Zaleon! He's a famous novelist - I thought I'd read all of his books!" Lucy exclaimed upon seeing it.

Natsu nodded. "I recognize the author as well. In fact, I can sense a spell on the book. I'm not sure what it is, though," he said with a furrowed brow.

Before he could say anything else, though, Everlue, in the same fashion the maids earlier presented, popped out of the ground with a grin.

"I knew they'd sent filthy wizards to take something of mine! I can't believe it was that dumb book, though!" he said in disgust. "Come forth, Vanish Brothers!" he shouted.

On cue, some shelves on the other side of the room came apart to reveal a secret entrance from whence white smoke poured. It revealed two men - one with black hair spiked in four prominent parts. He wore a coat and a strange band around his forehead. Wrapped around his right arm was a white cloth with a purple design shaped like an "S" that had a fox's head in the center.

The other man also wore a coat and had a similar wrapping around his left arm. He had a bald crown with a black braid that fell from the back of his head. Four strange, red characters covered his face. On his back was a large frying pan-like tool with a long, bandaged handle, the whole thing seemingly made of metal.

Natsu recognized the marking on the wrappings as the guild mark of the Southern Wolves. " _A mercenary guild, eh?"_ he thought to himself.

"Say your prayers, thieves!" Everlue shouted smugly.

Natsu requipped the book into his magical dimension.

The two men watched him as he used his magic. "A requip mage, huh?" the one with the pan said, unimpressed. "You're no match for us. You wanna know why?"

Natsu looked at him curiously. "Enlighten me."

They both grinned. "Wizards spend so much time honing their magical abilities that they neglect their body. This makes them physically weak. We, on the other hand, focus on our physical strength, so we're faster and stronger than you. You don't stand a chance," the man with the braid continued.

Natsu began to laugh slightly. He kept laughing, and eventually was in the same predicament as he was when he made a "joke" with Lucy. His legs kicked the ground as he struggled to breathe, creating huge craters in the floor.

At that moment, the two wizards knew instinctively that they were totally and utterly fucked. Unfortunately, this was only a subconscious thought, so they shrugged it away.

The bigger one with the spiked hair looked over at his partner. "Hey, bro, combo attack?" he suggested.

The other nodded. "Sounds good," he said as he swung his pan in front of himself. The larger one jumped upon it with his feet together and his arms apart, as if he were trying to balance himself. "Heaven and Earth Annihilation!" they shouted.

Natsu had finally recovered as he turned toward the two. The one with the frying pan swung it up, throwing the other into the sky.

He looked up at him, wondering what he was doing.

"Look toward heaven, and w-" the one with the pan began to shout as Natsu suddenly disappeared.

"Ah!" came the startled cry as Natsu reappeared in front of the one in the air. He tapped his forehead, instantly knocking him out.

The man with the braid was dumbfounded. He looked up to see his partner falling from the sky, unconscious.

"And we strike from the Earth!" came a shout as Natsu kicked him in his chin. "That was what you were going to say, correct?" he asked, not expecting an answer from either of the two, as they were both out cold.

Everlue looked at him in astonishment. " _He defeated the Vanish Brothers like they were nothing!"_ he thought in amazement.

He didn't have much time to ponder it, because Natsu knocked him out. He put him over his shoulder as he grabbed something from his pocket.

"Hey, Lucy? You're a celestial mage, right?" Natsu asked her as he turned around.

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"You'll probably want this," he said with a grin as he threw a golden key toward her.

Lucy looked at it in surprise. "A zodiac key? I can't believe Everlue had one!" she exclaimed.

Natsu nodded in agreement. "Pretty rare, those things are. Anyway, let's head on back to our client's place."

* * *

On the way back to the other, likely more pleasant mansion, Natsu dropped off Everlue at a Magic Council outpost along with a few sheets of paper that Lucy hadn't seen before. She didn't ask about it, though, because she trusted Natsu wholeheartedly.

Lucy did ask him why he didn't just teleport everywhere, however. He'd responded by telling her that he actually exerted a large amount of magical energy at a constant speed in the form of air above him. This resulted in increased magic energy as his magical container grew in a reaction to the need. Walking gave him the time to do this, so to him it was just extra time to train. Lucy wasn't very surprised by his answer - he'd told her he trained every possible moment to get as strong as he was.

They eventually made it there, though. Upon knocking on the door, they were answered by Masumi, their client's wife. She welcomed and escorted them to the same room where Kaby still sat. He looked up at them with a serious countenance. "Did you destroy the book?"

Natsu shook his head and his hand glowed and the said book appeared. Kaby grimaced at the sight.

Before he could say anything else, Natsu turned it around and brought it to him. "The book isn't all it seems. Your father put a spell on it. You may want to take the time to read it," he told him as the book shone and the words floated off the page and began rearranging themselves.

"We had a fun time on this mission. We'll see you some other time, Kaby and Masumi," Natsu said with a tone of finality. "Let's go, Lucy. He's gonna want to sit and read this for a while."

Lucy raised an eyebrow but nodded. He turned around and began walking toward the door, so she followed suit. Before leaving, however, she heard the sounds of crying.

As they left the building, Natsu turned toward Lucy. "That book was actually a message for Kaby himself. I think he'd prefer to keep it to himself as well."

"Oh…" Lucy trailed off, unsure of what to say.

Her nervousness was unnecessary as Natsu suddenly grinned. "The mission's over! Let's get back to the guild, Lucy!" he shouted happily. Lucy smiled in return.

Natsu grabbed her hand. "Three, two, one, NOW!"

Suddenly, her surroundings changed as she recognized the layout. They were at the foot of the Fairy Tail guild doors. Natsu waited a moment so that Lucy could adjust to the change. After getting a gesture from her that obviously meant "go ahead" he pushed the doors open.

As always, something flew right at them. This time it was a person, though. A black-haired person wearing nothing but boxers, in fact. Natsu caught him and set him down. "Hey, Gray," he said calmly.

"And that's what you get for badmouthing Natsu!" a female voice rang out from the other side of the guild. Natsu recognized it and chuckled knowingly.

The black-haired guy known as Gray dusted his clothes - or in his case, his body - off as he turned away. "Tch. I didn't need your help, Natsu. You're really nothing special compared to me."

Before Natsu could respond, Gray was grabbed by a certain white-haired girl with a demonic glare. "Gray? What did I say about talking bad about Natsu?" she said in a sweet yet devilish voice.

"U-u-uh I w-was j-just j-joking, Mira. H-hehe," Gray said fearfully. Natsu laughed at his predicament, gaining the attention of the girl.

Lucy looked at her with an expression to match Gray's. "S-scary!" she muttered.

"Oh, Natsu! I, uh, didn't see you there!" the white-haired female said nervously. Realizing that he must've heard the way she punished Gray for what he said about him, she turned away, red faced.

"Hey, Mira. We just got our job done," he told her with a grin.

Mira turned around, still embarrassed. Gray had taken off the moment she was distracted by Natsu's appearance, though she didn't seem to notice. "T-that's great!" she said.

Natsu then frowned slightly. "Where's Erza?" he asked. He'd noticed a lack of the crimson-haired beauty in the guildhall.

Mira seemed a little irritated at the mention of her, but responded nonetheless. "She actually should be back from her mission within an hour or so."

"Really? That's good," Natsu said with a smile.

Gray paled in the background, along with everyone else in earshot. " _Erza…_ " they muttered simultaneously, shivers creeping up their backs.

Lucy was frightened by their reactions. "Is Erza that scary?" she asked.

Natsu laughed. "She's actually really nice. She's friendly, but you've gotta abide by the rules, which is something most of our members have a problem doing."

As if on cue, the guild doors opened, revealing a female with a large horn over her shoulder.

"IT'S ERZA!"

 **I hope you liked it. By the way, I'm thinking of starting a new Fairy Tail fanfiction later, once this story gets to about the Grand Magic Games arc or so. Please PM me some ideas and suggestions for what I could have it be about. And no, it won't be a one-shot or a pure romantic fiction, so you can rule those out. It definitely will not have Natsu and Lucy as the main pairing, and I don't think I want it to be a harem as large as this one. Maybe three girls at most. Anyway, see you next chapter, guys.**


	13. Chapter 13: Well, That Was Anticlimactic

**Ugh, it's _you_ again. Whatever - I still hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

Lucy was a bit startled by Erza's appearance. The others had made her out to be quite the monster, complete with horns, a tail, and the ability to knock mountains down with a kick. Of course, Natsu _had_ told her that she wasn't really like that, but it was difficult to ignore the expressions of absolute fear on their guildmates' faces.

So when the doors burst open with said monster entering the guildhall, she was quite surprised to see in the place of the "monster" a beautiful crimson-haired woman wearing metal armor. She had a large horn decorated with gaudy baubles and other jewelry over her shoulder, which she proceeded to set onto the ground loudly.

Everyone in the guild, excluding Natsu and Mira, was shaking slightly. Sweat dripped from their foreheads in fear as they stopped whatever they were doing; Erza would most definitely not approve of any of it. The brunette with the barrel of liquor, whom she learned earlier was named Cana, stopped drinking for a moment. Wakaba, the guy who was constantly smoking, choked on his pipe. Macao, his drinking buddy, slapped his back and made him spit it out.

Vijeeter (who always danced or made weird poses) stopped dancing at the sight of Erza. The guy at the mission board called Nab fainted because he still couldn't find a good job. After helping his friend, Macao pretended to be unconscious so that he would not have to face Erza's wrath.

Mira simply smiled at everyone's actions. Natsu, on the other hand, walked forward to greet Erza. His footsteps were loud in the silent guildhall. Suddenly, Erza's serious expression changed into one of happiness as she smiled at Natsu. He proceeded to embrace her with a grin of his own.

"How's it going, Erza?" Natsu asked happily.

"Good. I completed my mission and took this horn from the beast I defeated, along with some gifts from the natives. I hope you're doing well," Erza replied as she pulled out of the hug.

Natsu laughed. "Yep, I'm fine. Recently got back from my job, too. We have a new member now," he said. "Hey, Lucy, come say hi to Erza!" Natsu yelled behind him.

Lucy walked toward the two nervously with a hand up. "U-uh… h-hello, E-erza," she said with a weak smile and a weak wave to match.

"It's nice to meet you, Lucy," Erza told her politely as she reached a hand out.

Lucy hesitated a moment before lifting her hand to grab Erza's. Natsu noticed her nervousness and frowned. "Lucy, don't worry. Erza's super nice," he said with a smile. The scarlet-haired female blushed slightly at his compliment, but luckily it wasn't noticeable.

She trusted Natsu and shook Erza's hand. "Natsu told me about you. I'm happy to meet you, too," she said with noticeably less tension as before.

Erza was quite red-faced at her statement. "H-he d-did?" she asked, looking away.

Lucy was dumbfounded by her reaction, but nodded. The rest of the guild felt similarly. " _Why is Erza so flustered that Natsu talked about her?"_ they simultaneously thought. Then they all came to a conclusion that none of them dared to speak out loud. " _Erza. Likes. Natsu."_

Erza released Lucy's hand after she regained her composure. " _There's no way anyone noticed that, right?"_ she asked herself. Then she remembered the rest of the guild.

Everyone felt a change in the atmosphere. If they thought they were off the hook because of Natsu changing her mood, they were wrong. " _Oh shit. Erza's angry,"_ they thought in unison.

"I heard a lot about Fairy Tail while I was gone. Not much of it was good, mind you. Word is that Fairy Tail's been causing nothing but trouble recently. Makarov may not mind, but I do. Cana!" Erza stated fiercely.

Cana shivered at her name being called. "You must start controlling your drinking."

"Vijeeter. Take the dancing outside." Vijeeter fell over at her voice.

"Wakaba. Stop smoking, or else."

"Nab! Pick a job right this instant!" she told the unconscious man near the mission board.

"Macao… I don't even know what to say about you…" she said as she rubbed her temples in distress.

"Gray! Put on some clothes." she told the mage, who began shivering in spite of the fact that he was an ice wizard.

Erza sighed in disapproval. Suddenly, however, Natsu walked up to Erza with his hand out.

"Hey, Erza. I bought you a cake," he said with a grin. His hand glowed and a huge mountain of a strawberry cake twice his size appeared. He set it down on the nearest table, which creaked dangerously from the weight. Natsu frowned and released a bit of magic toward the cake. It suddenly rested a lot easier on the table.

Erza almost drooled at the sight. She was about to literally jump in when Natsu gave her a fork. Erza remembered who gave it to her before she began eating it, and hugged Natsu with all her might. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much, Natsu!" she cried out in happiness. Right before she began ravenously eating the cake she bowed repeatedly in gratitude.

Everyone else in the guild face-planted at her sudden mood change. Natsu just smiled knowingly as she voraciously devoured the entire delicacy.

After about a minute - most likely a world record - Erza turned around with a serious expression.

Natsu cocked an eyebrow at her countenance as she opened her mouth to speak. "Natsu and Gray, I need you two for a mission."

Gray paled at the concept of going on a mission with Erza, while Natsu grinned in excitement. "So what are we going to do, Erza?" he asked.

* * *

"My god…" came the voices of two Fairy Tail mages. Lucy and Gray stared, dumbstruck, at the enormous cart full of luggage Erza was pulling.

"I still don't see why you pull that around when you could just requip it…" Natsu said as he shook his head.

Erza laughed. "Not everyone has the same amount of magic power as you, Natsu. Requipping this would seriously damage my magical reserves, even though for you it would be unnoticeable."

Natsu smiled while the other three nodded seriously. "Sometimes I wonder why you don't do your missions the easy way, actually," Erza continued with a slight frown.

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked. He thought he knew what she was getting at, but still was a little curious.

"You could teleport to wherever you need to be, then defeat whoever you need to within about a minute, yet you always choose to take your time," she explained.

Natsu began laughing uproariously, much to the confusion of the others. "I guess you haven't noticed that I only take my time when I go on jobs with my friends."

That statement took a second to register in the mages' minds. Once it had, however, all three stared at him in amazement while Erza and Gray almost passed out.

"Y-you mean… you have been doing that ever since you joined the guild?" Gray asked in astonishment.

Natsu laughed even louder, as if he knew something they didn't - which was probably true about a lot of things. "Actually, I'm always doing jobs except when I'm training. I just finished a job after you asked that, in fact. I usually go to the council for most of them if I complete all the SS and SSS-class quests."

Erza, dumbfounded, looked at him in even more confusion. "How can you do a mission if you've been here with us?"

"I send my Ice Clones. They can only use Ice Dragon Slayer magic and my physical abilities, but that's enough. If I'm being honest, I move faster with my physical attributes than teleportation. I only utilize that when I need to go through something solid, or when going with someone else," he continued with a grin.

The wizards all passed out from amazement - they never got over the fact that Natsu was incomprehensibly powerful.

Natsu just picked the mages up as he put them down on seats in the train. " _If they get freaked out by this, I really need to keep quiet about the other stuff I can do…"_ he thought as he sat down.

* * *

Once the three wizards had regained consciousness, Erza informed them of what the job entailed. Eventually, the train stopped and they all got off.

Natsu suddenly disappeared, freaking out the others, and then returned holding a creepy flute about a minute later.

He proceeded to grab the flute with both hands, and smashed it into dust by squeezing it.

"There was a dark mage from Eisenwald that was obviously transporting Lullaby to his guild. I brought him to the council, and that flute I just destroyed was Lullaby. I just sent an Ice Clone to defeat his guild, and it should be done in about two or three minutes," Natsu said calmly, waiting for the reactions he knew would come.

Instead, however, the wizards just nodded in acceptance. Natsu was surprised, but laughed on the inside. " _I bet they forced themselves to live with how awesome I am,"_ he thought.

"I guess we can't expect anything less from you, Natsu," Erza said with a smile.

"Let's get on back to the guild, then, alright?"

 **Sorry that the chapter's pretty short. I promise I'm not gonna stop this story after just starting it, but I am losing a bit of interest. So yeah, don't worry about anything like that. I kind of want to make a Naruto story, though. Well, peace.**


	14. Chapter 14: Galuna Island

**Oi. Here's a 3k+ word chapter like I promised. Sorry for taking so long - I wrote this entire chapter in about three hours today. I just like reading fanfictions far more than I do writing them. I also just got Undertale and went on a genocide run, which was pretty awesome.**

 **Also, thanks for the favorites and follows. Pretty cool when the first fanfiction you write gets 300+ of each in a month and a half. Anyway, hope you like.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.**

"Lucy, I need to ask you something," Gray said quietly. He sat on one side of a bed blanketed in pink while Lucy sat on the other. His shirt was off, though Lucy didn't comment on it as a result of his seriousness.

She frowned slightly. "Alright, what is it?" she asked, a little perturbed by his grim countenance. Although he usually acted cool, it was more of a nonchalant kind of thing rather than his current grave look.

Gray turned to look her in the eyes. "I need you…," he started without looking away.

For about half a second, Lucy thought that was all he was going to say and got a little freaked out, but he continued.

"- to go on an S-Class mission with me! We've gotta show Natsu up! We've just gotta!" Gray exclaimed eagerly, jumping up and down on her bed.

Lucy blinked about twenty times slowly as she tried to process these most recent events. The calm and collected black-haired mage was _jumping up and down_ on her bed in excitement. She swore there were visible stars in his eyes as he continued his enthusiastic actions.

"U-uh, I mean, I don't see why not…" she trailed off nervously. She wasn't positive what an S-Class mission involved, but if Gray thought it would "show Natsu up" then it had to be pretty difficult. But Gray wouldn't ask her to do something she wasn't ready for, right…? Right?

Gray immediately did a handstand and started kicking his feet toward the ceiling. "YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! WE GOTTA SHOW NATSU UP! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!" he cried out with unhealthy excitement.

Lucy started to regret her response, but knew she couldn't turn him down like that. " _Ugh, I have a bad feeling about this…"_ she thought with a loud sigh.

Gray grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door, scaring Lucy slightly in the process. "LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO!" he yelled, uncaring of the fact that everyone within a ten mile radius was covering their ears.

Lucy _really_ didn't want to argue now, so she reluctantly allowed him to drag her through Magnolia. People dove out of the way while screaming as Gray plowed through the streets. Lucy continued to make gestures and mouthed words so to communicate things such as "I have never seen this man before in my life" and "This guy is insane and I am nothing like him in any way whatsoever."

Gray dragged her all the way out of Magnolia and into Hargeon Town, where she'd met Natsu. Arriving at the docks after about thirty minutes, Gray didn't look once for a ship and instead began creating a long path of ice through the ocean that he started a mad rush upon.

Lucy was a little afraid, knowing they were walking on thin ice ( _literally_ ). Luckily for her (or unluckily, depending on which way you look at it), Gray didn't give her a choice as they continued to make their way into the ocean.

* * *

A quarter under an hour later and two Fairy Tail mages could be found lying on the beach of an island. One was dripping with sweat and out cold (HAHA GET IT) and the other was so stiff she could barely move.

Suffice to say, they decided to spend the night there.

* * *

"Uh, Makarov?" came Natsu's voice from over the balcony where the S-Class requests were kept.

The old guild master looked up from his drink to see Natsu's obviously forced straight face. "Yeah, Natsu?" he asked, curious as to what was going on.

"One of the S-Class missions has been taken, and I sense a certain Ice-Make wizard's magic residue where it used to be. Speaking of which, have you seen Gray or Lucy around today?"

Makarov had begun drinking right as Natsu answered him, so he proceeded to spit all of his alcohol onto the newspaper he'd been reading. "WHAT!?" he shouted in anger.

Erza reacted quickly, appearing at Makarov's side. "What's wrong, Natsu?"

"Gray took an S-Class job, and brought Lucy with him to complete it," he told her bluntly, as the rest of the guild listened in on his answer and blanched.

Erza suddenly lowered her head while her fists shook. "I WILL KILL GRAY!"

The guild immediately went back to their previous activities as one, albeit in deep gratitude to whatever otherworldly power decided not to have Erza's wrath set on them, as well as even deeper pity for Gray.

Natsu finally could no longer keep a serious face on, and burst out laughing. The rest of the guild looked on in envy at Natsu's carefreeness even with Erza so angry. Makarov himself had fallen backwards off the counter, and hadn't gotten back up.

Natsu teleported to Erza's side, and put a hand on her armored shoulder. "Let's go, shall we?" he said with a grin.

Even Natsu's nearby presence could not overpower Erza's rage as she nodded slowly. They immediately disappeared, although whether it was their speed or Natsu's teleportation the guild couldn't discern.

They all let out a collective sigh of relief now that the oppressive feeling of the scarlet-haired knight's anger had dispersed. Makarov stood up from his spot behind the counter, now covered in the very drink he'd been enjoying recently. A very distinct thought went through his mind as he went to go clean himself off.

" _Shit."_

* * *

Natsu and Erza abruptly appeared on Galuna Island, the site of the mission, in the middle of a strange village. Erza was slightly disoriented, but sober enough to see the enormous bucket of a green substance that looked quite unfriendly being dropped onto the village. An ugly, flying rat held the bucket upside-down while three figures stood on it.

A strange, purple moon with a similarly colored glow above the island gave it an ominous look. The villagers looked like demons as well, though not necessarily evil ones.

Erza still was slightly slow to process and react to the situation, but Natsu had no such limitations.

He immediately moved his hands as the green liquid was pushed into a perfect, large ball. Another gesture and a pillar of ice with a bowl-like shape at the top was created underneath the ball. It landed in the bowl and Natsu teleported above it. He pushed both hands out and white-hot fire caused the ice to melt and the green liquid to evaporate.

The three on top of the rat had been looking at the village smugly until, all within about three seconds total, two more people appeared in the village and one somehow made their acid-like jelly disappear. No sooner had their faces switched to frowns than Natsu teleported onto the rat.

"How're you guys doing? Having fun attempting murder?" he asked with a strange grin that betrayed his true feelings.

The three shivered in fear as one of them, whom possessed unnaturally large eyebrows, spoke up. "Pfft, they're just some primitive villagers. No one would notice if they disappeared."

Natsu's facade of cheeriness disappeared as he stared down the one who'd spoken. "A human life is meaningless to you? If that is the case, I suppose you would not care if I obliterated you and your friends, correct?"

Not getting a response, he paralyzed them all with his lightning and proceeded to teleport back to the ground, though not before doing the same to the rat.

Erza, Lucy, and Gray (who had woken up recently) were staring at Natsu as he came down with an enormous rat in one hand and three people in the other. He set them all down carefully, although he also created a large cage of ice to encase the four.

Suddenly, Natsu's brow furrowed for a moment, then it was as though he remembered something, and he stuck his arm up spontaneously.

As if on cue (although it's more likely that it was Natsu's doing), the sky above them shattered. Pieces broke apart and revealed a similar view, although there was no more purple moon.

The others gaped at the view, and looked from Natsu to the sky to the ice cage holding their former opponents. They slowly just shook their heads, and started laughing.

Natsu joined in, although when he noticed Erza looking back at Gray and Lucy with realization starting to cloud her face, he created an Ice Clone that disappeared and came back almost instantly, along with about fifteen strawberry cakes.

As Erza opened her mouth, Natsu put all the cakes in front of her, and put the end of a fork with a piece of one into her open mouth.

Erza's eyes glazed over as she stared at the cakes and relished the taste of the piece. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, she grabbed the fork and began obliterating the cakes brutally.

Gray and Lucy sighed in relief while Natsu grinned at them. "Even if Erza's wrath is lessened, you'll still have to go through _THAT_ , Gray. I have a feeling Lucy was innocent in this, but you're not safe."

Lucy looked at Gray with sympathy, and Gray started crying before remembering what else needed to be done. He turned around and looked at Natsu to speak to him, but the village chief beat him to it.

While the mages had been doing what they did best (being complete weirdos), the villagers had stared at Natsu in shock and then happiness.

"What'd you do with the moon, boy? We're still demons," the chief told Natsu with a slight frown.

Natsu nodded. "Exactly. The truth is, you were _always_ demons. The magic spell being cast on this island, "Moon Drip," affected your bodies and your memories. It made you turn into humans during the day, and tricked you into thinking you getting _changed_ into demons at night, rather than reverting to your true form. The reason the spell had such a large effect is because of the residual magic that formed into a dome-like crystal. Also, it only affects demons. Your memories should be getting fixed soon."

The villagers looked at Natsu in amazement. "Thank you so much!" they cried. The chief just shook his head in astonishment. "What's your name, boy?" he asked.

Natsu grinned. "I'm Natsu Dragneel, a Fairy Tail wizard."

The village chief smiled back at him. "We won't forget you, Dragneel. Thank you for everything."

Suddenly, Gray broke in with a frantic expression. "Natsu! The demon Deliora is being set loose from the ice my master froze it with! We need to stop the Moon Drip spell!" he exclaimed.

Natsu frowned. "I know. That Reitei guy is a friend of yours, correct? I asked him how long Deliora's been in the ice, and I'm almost positive he's dead. If not, I can take care of him. Do you want me to finish of the rest of the ice?" he finished.

Gray looked slightly stunned, but was too worried to question his knowledge. "No, you don't understand. The ice _is_ my master, Ur. She sacrificed her life to trap Deliora. Her life force was turned into ice itself. If you destroy the ice, you destroy what's left of her."

Natsu smiled at him. "Is that it? I can easily change the ice back into your master. She'll have a lot less magic power, since the ice represented her strength, but that can be fixed with training."

Gray's heart almost stopped. "SERIOUSLY? GO DO IT, PLEASE, NATSU!"

Natsu nodded seriously at Gray. "I'll get to it now," he told him before he disappeared.

* * *

In a dark cave, an enormous block of ice covered most of a scary-looking creature. Natsu appeared beside it, and slowly put his hand upon the ice.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated on gathering the magic into his hand not touching the ice, which had its palm pointed at a ninety-degree angle from his arm, sticking straight out from beside him.

The ice slowly started losing its strange glow, and it seemed as though that light was being transferred to Natsu's unoccupied hand.

After about a minute, the glow in his hand had formed into a roughly human-shaped figure, and Natsu opened his eyes. He took his hand off of the ice, and almost instantly the glow formed into a naked, beautiful woman with short, chin-length dark purple hair.

She was unconscious, and Natsu proceeded to remove his coat and wrap it around her body. He smiled at her, thinking of how happy Gray would be to see her again.

Then he remembered Deliora, and turned around to look at the ice again. He walked up and literally _pulled_ the ice off of Deliora with his magic, and ate it as energy.

The demon began to roar loudly in freedom, but was cut short as it felt the effects of being in ice for over ten years. Its arm slowly fell off as it roared again, but this time in pain and much more quietly.

It broke apart, crumbling as dust rose into the sky. Natsu stared at the result with no satisfaction. Even if it was a demon, having to live through your entire body breaking into pieces could not feel good. However, he didn't feel any remorse, either.

He prepared to teleport back to his friends, and grinned, thinking of what Gray's reaction would be.

Back in the village, the demons were celebrating while the Fairy Tail mages waited in anticipation. It had only been a little over a minute, but Natsu always did things in three seconds at most. Luckily for them, Natsu appeared beside them again.

He held a beautiful, dark purple-haired woman bridal-style in his arms. His coat was off, and instead was being worn by the very same woman.

Natsu grinned at the three, but his cheeriness was especially directed at Gray. "Here, I got you a present, Gray."

Gray stood there in astonishment - this was the first time he'd seen his master in over ten years. He'd eventually gotten over her death, though he'd in no way forgotten her. All that time, convincing himself that she was gone, that he'd never see her again. But now… now she was with him again.

Tears ran down his face in joy as he ran over to Ur. "I-It's r-really h-her…" he trailed off, too happy to continue. A huge smile covered his face.

Natsu disappeared again, then reappeared a second later with Reitei, though known to Gray and Lucy as Lyon. "You have a connection to Ur as well, correct? Go say 'hi,' " Natsu told Lyon with a grin.

A similar reaction came from Lyon, though it was also coupled with deep guilt and remorse. "I-I… I a-almost k-killed U-Ur…" he said while crying.

Natsu patted Lyon on the back. "It wasn't your intention. In fact, all you were doing was following in your master's footsteps, trying to get stronger, and at the same time avenging her. I think you're still a good guy."

Lyon looked a little more cheerful after that, though his feeling of sorrow wasn't completely erased. Natsu sighed, knowing it was impossible to force someone to forgive themselves. Instead, he turned back around to face the other Fairy Tail mages.

"Excuse me for a second, guys. I've gotta take care of something," he told them. Erza and Lucy nodded, the beginnings of tears in their eyes as they watched the heartfelt moment.

* * *

In the forest surrounding the village on Galuna Island, a woman with similar features to Ur wore a revealing white kimono belted by dull gold cloth. She had long, dark purple hair that reached the middle of her back and bangs touching her eyebrows. She also had a black choker on. All in all, she was quite beautiful.

The only thing that marred her beauty in the least was the fact that she was on her knees crying uncontrollably as she stared into a crystal ball that showed the events occurring in the village.

Suddenly, the crystal ball showed Natsu disappearing after he told the other wizards he had to do something. Almost immediately, he reappeared beside her.

She was too distraught to think clearly, but quickly moved away from him. Natsu frowned at her reaction, and looked at her reassuringly.

"Hey, I noticed that you undeniably look like Ur. I assume you're related, perhaps her daughter? You don't have to tell me, but why are you here?" he asked.

Natsu's talking gave the woman some time to think, and she started to use a spell. For some reason, however, the crystal ball was not being affected by her magics - the Arc of Time magic or Telekinesis.

Natsu laughed slightly. "You don't need to attack me, but I'm not letting you try, anyway. I'm countering your magic by using my own Arc of Time and Telekinesis. There's no point in asking how I can," he told her.

The woman looked at him in shock. " _To my knowledge, I'm the only one who can use Arc of Time magic, and there's no way Natsu is strong enough to counter my own so easily."_

He frowned slightly. "Your magic seems… mutated, somehow, and also kind of evil. Are you a dark mage?"

She was even further amazed, but instead of showing it, she attempted an Ice-Make spell on him.

"Ice-Make: Bloom!" she shouted. Several blocks of ice shaped like flowers surrounded by ice spikes sprouted from the ground and flew at Natsu.

Putting his hand out, he proceeded to control the ice and compress it into a small ball that he popped into his mouth and swallowed. "Ice doesn't work either, you know. I'm not going to hurt you, but I can tell you that I'm about a hundred times as powerful as you are," Natsu said.

She was speechless. No one in Fairy Tail was supposed to be this strong, except the guild master and the one known as "Gildarts." She knew Natsu had been asked to join the Ten Wizard Saints at one point, but to decline usually showed that they did not believe themselves strong enough. To be _this_ powerful…

"We both may use Arc of Time magic, but I still don't want to waste too much time, so either you tell me what's going on now or I force you to," Natsu told her with a grim countenance.

Then the woman thought she saw a way out of her predicament. "Why don't you just take me to the Magic Council? They'll force me to speak, right?"

Natsu laughed. "Yeah, right. You're a member of the Magic Council, Ultear. I'm not an idiot."

She was even more astonished, and couldn't think of a way to escape. "A-alright…," she started nervously. "I'll talk."

 **Baboom-pow. There you go. By the way, yes, Ultear and Ur are in the harem. Pretty much every _main_ character, actually. If you have anyone specific in mind you think I haven't thought of, just message me. See you later.**


End file.
